Today our country celebrated Veteran's Day. Our courts, banks and U.S. mail were closed but most other offices were open. Veteran's Day is not like Labor Day or Memorial Day. We, as a country, recognize the day but do not close down. In our capitalist society, I like to think that any day the Stock Market closes, then it must be a big deal. Too often our miitary veterans are not given the recognition that they deserve. Some of our veterans volunteered to serve, while others were drafted into service. Regardless, they did their duty and went into harms way to defend our way of life and the principles that we stand for as a country. One of those principles is the rule of law. I salute each veteran and their families for the sacrifices that they have made.
Representing a veteran presents unique challenges that all practitioners in the criminal defense area of law should be aware of. The veteran needs to be carefully questioned about their service and how it has affected them. While it is true that the military has made great strides in trying to recognize those veterans who suffer from PTSD and other mental health problems, we are still very far from completely resolving their unique issues.
The veteran who is accused of a crime should be treated as if their mental health condition may be an underlying factor in how they see their world and how they react to their world. At first blush, it may seem that a veteran is no different from any other person charged with a crime. In some respects this may be true. Especially if the veteran did not see combat or experience anything unusual during their service in the U.S. military. However, veterans who have experienced combat and or traumatic situations may suffer from underlying mental health condtions that can affect their culpability in a crime. Some crimes require a certain level of thought or planning (mens rea) while others do not. An example of a crime that ordinarily does not require a mens rea is DUI.
In the United States, it is illegal to operate a motor while under the influence of alcohol to the extent that a person's normal faculties are impaired. A veteran who can't control his drinking due to underlying psychological trauma or physical trauma may be successfully defended in an otherwise hopeless case. Even if the underlying crime cannot be defended, the impact of this evidence on a judge when it comes time for senteincing can be significant, especially when dealing with the client who has had more than one DUI.
Another area of concern for a Veteran is in the area of mitigation. In Florida, we use a sentencing guideline. This guideline attempts to achieve uniformity in sentencing. In an effort to keep the sentences uniform judges cannot generally deviate from a sentence that requires prison. The exception to this rule is if the judge finds that a person qualifies for a downward departure. There are several statutory reasons for a downward departure. One of the reasons is that a person suffers from a mental health condition that is unrelated to substance abuse and the defendant is amenable to treatment. This sounds easy enough to figure out, but the problem arises with the client who is addicted to drugs and commits a crime such as theft to support their drug habit.
The person who has the drug habit would not seem to qualify under the statute for a reduction in their sentence. However, if the evidence is such that the person has the addiction as a result of some other reason, then perhaps a skilled attorney can present drug addiction in a light that shifts the focus from the addiction to the underlying cause. This is not easy. However, for a veteran the attorney has a wealth of potential mitigatiing evidence to work with. The attorney can access the veteran's service record and medical records from the Veterans Administration. The bottom line, veterans need to be treated with extra care to make sure that they receive fair treatment from they government and set of laws that they were presumably sent off to defend.
Adam Pollack, an expert in criminal trial law, has the necessary experience to provide our veterans the unique care that their cases call for. If you are a veteran or know a veteran in need of legal help for a crime that he or she may be accused of, then call Adam Pollack at 407-834-5297 or email him at adam.pollack@orl-law.com.