The Shelby County District Attorney General's Office

The District Attorney General's Office is one of the partners committed to finding ways to assist our armed forces veterans who are charged with crimes.

An assistant district attorney is assigned to the Veterans Court Prosecution Team. The Prosecution Team works with the Veterans Court staff to carefully evaluate each case and determine if the veteran meets basic requirements and can be helped by the program. Included in this evaluation is establishing contact with any victims in the matter for their input on the case. Entry into the program affords these veterans an opportunity to avoid incarceration, saving the taxpayers money and freeing jail space for more serious offenders.

"The aim of our Veterans Court Prosecution Team is to find out if these veterans have underlying reasons for their crimes," said Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich. "The Veterans Court treatment programs could help keep veterans out of trouble. That is a win for the entire community."

The Veterans Court Treatment Program could be considered as a requirement for probation on cases in any of the General Sessions courts or in the Criminal Courts.  In this situation, the participant could be ordered by the Court to successfully complete the Veterans Court program as part of their court ordered probation.