San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
It’s a new day in Bexar’s veterans court
Judge Erica Dominguez has no time for excuses in her courtroom.
The new leader of County Court-at-Law No. 6, and the misdemeanor Veterans Treatment Court, expects those who stand before her to comply with its standards.
For years, Wayne Christian presided over this court, but he did not seek re-election. That opened the door for Dominguez, who won election in the fall. She presided over the specialty court’s docket for the first time Monday afternoon, and her message of tough love reverberated among the 84 veterans.
Before taking the bench, Dominguez spent five years as a public defender in the county’s Mental Health, Adult Drug and DWI courts.
“I have a lot of the specialty court background. I know about treatment,” she told the group before listing reasons people often cite for not calling in, failing urinalysis or missing appointments. “All those excuses will not work with me.”
The vets ranged in age from their early 20s to 80 and reflected a cross-section of America, the armed forces and Military City, USA. They also offered a reminder that addiction does
not discriminate.
From the Korean War-era to the present, they carried stories, and maybe trauma, from around the globe. Some served for months, others for decades. Many endured war zones. Some are disabled. Some can’t pay their bills. Some wore coats and ties, and others arrived in work uniforms. Most are in the yearlong program due to drunken or impaired driving. All served, or are serving, the nation. And all are reckoning with some form of addiction or mental illness.
“We’ve all served in the military,” said Dominguez, a San Antonio native and Air Force
vet. “You’re held to a higher standard.”
During her service, Dominguez loaded bombs on B-1 bombers in the waist-high snow of South Dakota and in the heat of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Those who are accepted and complete Veterans Treatment Court could have their charges dismissed and expunged, but, much like the armed services, the journey demands discipline and commitment. Participants sign a contract that requires sobriety, daily calls to a urinalysis line, frequent use of a personal alcohol monitoring device, a vehicle interlock system,
monthly fees, appointments and check-ins.
On this day, Dominguez accepted five into the program and celebrated three graduates.
“This program is great for all of us,” one graduate told the court. “These guys are all here to help, and it’s all worth the dismissal and the expungement in the end, so just stick with it.”
Dominguez worked through the list and reviewed how each person was doing. She sent arrest warrants for the few who didn’t show up or communicate with the court.
“You’re compliant across the board,” she told those who were on track. Court staff presented several veterans with gift cards in recognition of their progress.
Many earned a promotion, accompanied by applause, to the next of the program’s four phases. Each promotion lessens the restrictions.
Others had used alcohol or drugs again.
When asked why, one older man said, “I stepped on a landmine.” The judge referred the man to treatment and more random urinalysis.
The program has a 95 percent completion rate, with 780 people having graduated since it began in 2017, according to Josh Childers, an Air Force vet who’s also the court’s project director.
“Every problem is very personal, it’s to look inside yourself to accept that change is possible, and work towards that change, and be held accountable in that process,” he said.
Dominguez wants to bring more transparency to the court, which fell under scrutiny during Christian’s tenure. Most recently, the 4th Court of Appeals found Christian, an Army veteran, violated a defendant’s constitutional right to due process in a 2018 probation revocation hearing.
Dominguez wants defense attorneys, especially public defenders, to ask clients about their military service and possibly refer them to the veterans court. Even if they’re deemed ineligible, the court’s case managers can help people find resources.
“I am trying to help when I can, if I can,” she said.
It’s a new day in County Court-at-Law No. 6.