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A Sentencing Docket For Veterans, Established by the Chief Justice

Maine has veterans treatment courts in statute: a specialized sentencing docket in select criminal cases where the defendant is a veteran or a member of the United States Armed Forces, which the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court may establish. State departments may seek federal funding and contract for them, and the Administrative Office of the Courts may coordinate treatment and social services. They sit in Cumberland and Kennebec counties.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

Maine has veterans treatment courts in statute: a specialized sentencing docket in select criminal cases where the defendant is a veteran or a member of the United States Armed Forces, which the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court may establish. State departments may seek federal funding and contract for them, and the Administrative Office of the Courts may coordinate treatment and social services. They sit in Cumberland and Kennebec counties.

What it's worth: A supervised treatment docket instead of the ordinary sentencing track — in two counties

  • No sum is claimed. What is at stake is custody time, supervision and a record, which the corpus does not attempt to price.
  • The statute is permissive: the Chief Justice MAY establish these courts. Two counties have them, and the section creates no right to be admitted anywhere.
  • The Judicial Branch describes participation as typically lasting at least a year, with many participants staying longer.

Who is entitled to it

  • The docket takes the veteran defendant.
  • You are in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Ask counsel first whether the case is in, or can be moved to, one of the two counties that run a docket: Cumberland, sitting at the Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland, and Kennebec, sitting at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta.
  2. 2The statutory class is wider than "veteran". §433 defines the docket around a defendant who is a veteran OR a member of the United States Armed Forces, so a currently serving member is inside it.
  3. 3The screening criteria published by the Judicial Branch are worth preparing for: military veteran; 18 or older; substance use and/or mental health treatment needs; involved in a criminal case or probation matter; and assessed as high-risk and high-need for recidivism.
  4. 4The high-risk, high-need criterion surprises people. A defendant whose case looks minor may be screened OUT as too low-risk for an intensive docket — that is a design choice, not a judgment about the service.
  5. 5Plan for a year at least. The Judicial Branch says participation typically lasts at least one year and many participants remain longer depending on needs and progress, moving through multiple phases.
  6. 6Bring the DD214 and any VA rating or treatment records to counsel at the first meeting. Screening turns on documented service and documented need.
  7. 7Ask counsel to contact the federal Veterans Justice Outreach specialist for the VA facility serving the county — the section expressly contemplates the Administrative Office of the Courts coordinating treatment and social services, and the federal specialist is how the VA side of that gets arranged.
Form
No application form — admission is through the criminal case
File with
The Veterans Treatment Court in Cumberland or Kennebec county, through defence counsel
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingThe Kennebec docket grew out of the Co-Occurring Disorders Court rather than being built from nothing, which is why the criteria read as mental-health-and-substance-use criteria with service laid over the top.
CorrectionThe Judicial Branch’s own page does not state what completion earns, and the statute does not either. Whatever is on offer — a dismissal, a reduced sentence, a deferred disposition — is negotiated in the individual case, so ask counsel rather than assuming.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.