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Veterans Treatment Courts — Seven of Them, and You May Be Able to Move Your Case to One

The Trial Court’s Specialty Courts Department runs seven Veterans Treatment Courts, at Boston, Lawrence, Framingham, Dedham, Brockton, Holyoke and Gardner. Its own page states that where your case is in a court without one, transferring the case to a location that has one may be an option.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The Trial Court’s Specialty Courts Department runs seven Veterans Treatment Courts, at Boston, Lawrence, Framingham, Dedham, Brockton, Holyoke and Gardner. Its own page states that where your case is in a court without one, transferring the case to a location that has one may be an option.

What it's worth: A court-supervised treatment session in place of the ordinary path through the case, at one of seven locations

  • The Specialty Courts Department describes Veterans Treatment Courts as "a court-supervised, treatment-focused collaborative for defendants who have served in the United States Armed Forces".
  • The Department states the sessions "aim to improve public safety while dealing with the underlying issues of posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and military sexual trauma".
  • The Department states: "Abstinence from drugs and alcohol, mandated treatment, swift accountability, and weekly interaction with the court are requirements of the Veterans Treatment Court."
  • The Department states: "If you have a case in a court where there is no Veterans Treatment Court, it may be an option to transfer your case to a location with a Veterans Treatment Court. If you are considering whether a Veterans Treatment Court is the right option for you, start by talking with your attorney or probation officer."
  • The seven locations published are: Boston Veterans Treatment Court at the Central Division of the Boston Municipal Court, Edward W. Brooke Courthouse, 24 New Chardon Street, Boston; Essex County Veterans Treatment Court at Lawrence District Court, Fenton Judicial Center, 2 Appleton St., Lawrence; Middlesex County Veterans Treatment Court at Framingham District Court, 600 Concord St., Framingham; Norfolk County Veterans Treatment Court at Dedham District Court, 631 High St., Dedham; Plymouth County Veterans Treatment Court at Brockton District Court, 215 Main St., Brockton; Western Massachusetts Veterans Treatment Court at Holyoke District Court, 20 Court Plaza, Holyoke; and Worcester County (or Central Massachusetts) Veterans Treatment Court at Gardner District Court, 108 Matthews St., Gardner.
  • The Department’s page states no eligibility bar by offence and no automatic outcome on completion, and none is published here.

Who is entitled to it

  • You served, which is what this route is written around.
  • Your home is in Massachusetts.

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

Deadline: Raise it as early in the case as possible
  1. 1Tell your attorney or probation officer that you served. The Department’s own instruction is to start there.
  2. 2Ask about transfer if your case is not in one of the seven courts. The Department states in terms that transferring the case to a location with a Veterans Treatment Court may be an option — this is the step most veterans never hear about.
  3. 3Work out which of the seven is nearest: Boston (Boston Municipal Court, Central Division), Lawrence, Framingham, Dedham, Brockton, Holyoke or Gardner.
  4. 4Know what you are agreeing to before you agree. The Department lists abstinence from drugs and alcohol, mandated treatment, swift accountability and weekly interaction with the court as requirements — weekly, not monthly.
  5. 5Name the condition. The sessions are described as dealing with posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and military sexual trauma, and military sexual trauma is named on equal terms with the other two.
  6. 6Bring the DD Form 214 to the first appointment so that VA services can be lined up alongside the court programme.
  7. 7Ask what completion achieves in that particular session. The Department’s page does not state an outcome, so the answer belongs to the judge and the prosecutor in your case.
Form
None — raised through your attorney or probation officer
File with
The court hearing your case, through your attorney or probation officer
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionThe commonest reason a Massachusetts veteran misses this is geography — the assumption that a court without a veterans session is the end of it. The Specialty Courts Department says the opposite: transfer to a court that has one may be an option.
Worth knowingThese sessions sit inside existing District and Municipal Courts rather than in buildings of their own. The Boston one is a session of the Boston Municipal Court, Central Division; the other six are sessions of District Courts.
Known gapNo eligibility bar by offence, no programme length and no consequence of completion appears on the Department’s page, and no statute was reachable this session. Ask counsel for the specific session’s terms before entering.

Sources

Why only one source type: The Specialty Courts Department is the administering body and its own page is the published authority; malegislature.gov refused the connection this session, so no statutory section is quoted rather than one being guessed at.

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