by Bill Maddick
VETERAN’S CORNER
LAKEWOOD MUNICIPAL COURT ASSISTS VETERANS
Y
ou wouldn’t think of a city municipal court as the most
likely place a program to help assist veterans but, in fact,
that is one of the things that Lakewood Municipal Court
provides. In particular, with the city of Lakewood, they
have sponsored the West Metro Veterans Fair for three years now
(the most recent having been held on September 15, 2015) and for
just over a year now they have also held a special municipal court
exclusively for veterans.
A driving force behind this development is Scott Heftley, Chief
Probation Officer for Lakewood Municipal Court, a retired veteran
of the 101st Airborne. Probation officers in Lakewood carry a case
load of roughly two hundred probationers, so anything that can
reduce the case load and increase efficiency is always welcome.
Borrowing from a model utilized in several Colorado District Courts,
Scott likewise proposed adopting a specialized court for veterans
in Lakewood. A committee was formed, approval granted and
now these services are provided for veterans, with Lakewood
being a pioneer in implementing specialized veteran services at
the municipal level. As Scott says, “We don’t just jail folks, we try
the holistic approach.” And with roughly a thousand probationers
registered in Lakewood, the Lakewood Municipal Court Veterans
Process (LMCVP) seems to be proving itself effective.
As mentioned, the third annual West Metro Veterans Fair was
just held at the Lakewood Elks on September 15, 2015 and the
planning and logistics for staging this event fell to a planning
committee chaired by Norman Brisson, Court Administrator,
Lakewood Municipal Court (and included Scott). The fair was
a success with some thirty one Veteran Service Organizations
serving 160 veteran attendees. The services represented ranged
from homeless assistance to health benefits, from human services
to jobs assistance, from personal counseling to a congressional
representative’s office and from claims assistance to education;
plus everything in between. Complimentary grilled-to-order brats,
dogs and hamburgers were served on the Elks Club patio and
fittingly, the fair began with the posting of colors and the national
anthem. It then remained busy for the next four hours. No personal
statistics are available, so we can only hope that every one of the
veterans who attended found the program helpful and received the
assistance they deserve.
Perhaps the most pertinent aspect of the Lakewood Municipal
Court Veterans Process is the specialized court. More serious
crimes like rape, homocide, or breaking and entering go to other
federal courts, but Lakewood Municipal Court sees misdemeanor
cases such as open container violations, trespassing (sleeping on
a lawn) and shoplifting. Every veteran will see a probation officer
upon conviction with the Honorable Judge Stephan Munsinger, First
District retired, as the LMCVP judge (he offered to volunteer though
the Court thought it best to reimburse a judge for his time). A former
chopper pilot in Vietnam, Judge Munsinger says that the purpose of
this court is to, “Get out of this court and successfully move on.” And
that is exactly what the Lakewood Municipal Court is providing. The
court has only been in operation for a little over a year and already
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they have been instrumental in getting four veterans off the street.
As well, Scott and fellow probation officer Audrey Smith, have
been known to go out of their way and personally drive veterans
to any appointments they might have. Often, veterans are entitled
to a host of benefits that might not otherwise be available to an
average citizen, so Scott and Audrey are helping both themselves
and the community if they can find VA assistance and housing for
their probationers. On any given day, they might be found driving
veterans to the Veteran’s Community Resource and Referral Center
(at 3030 Downing), to the VA Regional HQ or to the VA hospital, all
in addition to fulfilling all their other probation officer responsibilities
for the court.
So the moral of the story is: You know how we love to hate
government, especially when they raise our taxes or when a cop
gives us a ticket? You know how we love to hate bureaucrats,
especially when a road doesn’t get repaired or we hear about
a public official being charged with some crime like money
laundering? Well, I’m right there with you on that, and rightfully so.
But I was quite surprised and impressed when I followed up on
an email about a West Metro Veterans Fair. Whereupon I found
that the Lakewood Municipal Court has a couple of government
workers who are going out of their way to aid our veterans. We all
know there are good people out there, but to find a dedicated group
within the court that got it off the ground and working at it day after
day—well that was a revelation of something I was not expecting.
Who would have thought?
It isn’t a program anybody has really heard about, though admittedly,
you would have to be arrested before you would come in contact
with either Scott, Norm, Audrey or Judge Munsinger. In fact, the City
of Lakewood may include the LMCVP as a listing in the upcoming
directory, but presently it does not even have a phone number. This is
a good example of veterans helping veterans and creating something
that helps veterans (or others) within our government that can help
and doesn’t cost more. It is for the veteran’s sake and the city’s sake
and not for recognition or praise. All this is being accomplished by
civil servants who have taken the initiative, who are getting it done
and have done so quietly and without adding any expenditures to
the budget. How often do you hear about stories of that nature? This
seems like a win-win situation.
I think that Scott, Norm, Audrey and Judge Munsinger deserve a
commendation for their effort and for their concern about veterans. The
taxp ayer is definitely getting more than their worth out of these guys.
But the most important thing here is that it is a victory if we can keep our
veterans from winding up in court in the first place and help those veterans
stay out of court in the future by getting help when they need it.
If you know any veterans out there that are living on the edge,
please do all you can to get them the support and assistance to
which they are entitled. The Veterans Crisis line is (800) 273-8255
and is open 24/7/365. Or call the US Veterans Affairs Department
regional office in Lakewood at 303-393-2802. Make the call. It could
save a life or maybe even keep a veteran out of court. I’m sure that
Scott, Norm, Audrey and Judge Munsinger would agree.
November 2015
Thunder Roads Magazine® Colorado 17