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Running on "bubble gum and duct tape," a new court aims to keep damaged vets out of jail.

By Sam Merten October 07, 2010

If Carlos Melendez has mental problems, that's news to him. Sitting on a wooden bench outside State District Judge Mike Snipes' courtroom, the 20-year Air Force veteran can't explain why exactly he was accepted as an inaugural member of Dallas County's veterans court—the latest so-called "specialty" court aimed at preventing recidivism and relieving pressure... More >>>

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Vietnam veteran Charles Clemons claims he was formally accepted into Dallas County's veterans court in May, but Judge Mike Snipes says his charge is "too serious," leaving Clemons to attend court sessions as an outsider.

An Iraq veteran and first-term state district criminal court judge, Mike Snipes presides over one of Texas' first veterans courts that offers low-level offenders a clean criminal record after the completion of a six-month treatment program.

Diagnosed with PTSD after returning last year from his second deployment to Iraq, Army Sergeant Aaron Dillon is now mentoring the veterans court's most troubled case: 22-year-old Eric Marquez, who's failed three drug tests. "I think he needs a lot of guidance and a lot of help," Dillon says.

Vietnam veteran and former drug addict Tom Madrzykowski can identify with the participants he mentors in Dallas County's veterans court. "I hear the same excuses I used 25 and 30 years ago," he says.

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Vietnam veteran Charles Clemons claims he was formally accepted into Dallas County's veterans court in May, but Judge Mike Snipes says his charge is "too serious," leaving Clemons to attend court sessions as an outsider.

Mark Graham

Vietnam veteran Charles Clemons claims he was formally accepted into Dallas County's veterans court in May, but Judge Mike Snipes says his charge is "too serious," leaving Clemons to attend court sessions as an outsider.

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