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Veterans Court — Two Tracks, 13 or 15 Months, Lincoln or Minnehaha County

The Second Judicial Circuit runs a veterans treatment court at Sioux Falls, and it publishes exactly what it demands. You must be 18 or over, have prior service in the armed forces, face felony or misdemeanour charges, live in Lincoln or Minnehaha County, pass a legal screen and a risk and needs assessment, and be willing. You are then placed on Track 1 (minimum 13 months, four phases) or Track 2 (minimum 15 months, five phases). Every phase has a sober-day threshold, rising to 120 consecutive days by the last one.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The Second Judicial Circuit runs a veterans treatment court at Sioux Falls, and it publishes exactly what it demands. You must be 18 or over, have prior service in the armed forces, face felony or misdemeanour charges, live in Lincoln or Minnehaha County, pass a legal screen and a risk and needs assessment, and be willing. You are then placed on Track 1 (minimum 13 months, four phases) or Track 2 (minimum 15 months, five phases). Every phase has a sober-day threshold, rising to 120 consecutive days by the last one.

What it's worth: A judicially supervised treatment track of at least 13 months (Track 1) or 15 months (Track 2), with a volunteer veteran mentor throughout

  • The eligibility criteria are: at least 18; prior service in the U.S. armed forces; facing felony or misdemeanour charges; qualification based on a risk and needs assessment; passing a legal screen for entry; living in Lincoln or Minnehaha County; and willingness to participate.
  • Application is made with your lawyer, bringing a copy of the DD214 or NGB-22, and returned to the veterans court coordinator.
  • A court services officer then schedules the risk and needs assessment and connects the applicant to treatment for an assessment; the lawyer is notified of approval or denial.
  • Track 1 runs a minimum of 13 months across four phases: 60, 90, 120 and 120 days.
  • Track 2 runs a minimum of 15 months across five phases: 60, 90, 90, 90 and 120 days.
  • The track is set by the assessments completed at application, and the team can move a participant between tracks at any time based on performance and needs.
  • Sober-day thresholds rise phase by phase: 30 consecutive sober days to leave phase 1, then 60, then 90, then 120 by the final phase.
  • A mentor connection is required in phase 1, with at least two meetings before advancing.
  • Court sessions are held every other Wednesday, Track 1 at 9:30 AM and Track 2 at 9 AM, at 425 N. Dakota Ave., Sioux Falls. Failure to appear results in a bench warrant; lateness results in a sanction.
  • Drug testing is frequent and random throughout, with a minimum 28% chance of being tested on any day including weekends and holidays; participants call the testing line daily.
  • A positive or missed test results in loss of programme sober days as well as a sanction or therapeutic adjustment.
  • Employment or full-time schooling or job training is required during participation, approved by the team.
  • Participants must pay court costs, fines, fees and lawyer fees ordered at sentencing, on a payment plan agreed with the court services officer, and payment on fines is a requirement for graduation.
  • Participants may be required to pay for testing, monitoring and treatment, which may include the 24/7 programme, SCRAM or an ignition interlock.
  • Graduation requires a treatment recommendation supported by the court services officer and the team, completion of the necessary treatment programmes, safe and stable housing, employment or schooling or training, and a completed graduation application.
  • Purchases over $500 require team approval once a budget is in place, and gambling is prohibited.
  • A dedicated veterans court defence attorney represents participants throughout, including at evidentiary hearings on sanctions or termination, and attorney-client privilege applies to what is shared with them.

Who is entitled to it

  • You have prior service in the armed forces.
  • 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. 1Check the county first. Living in Lincoln or Minnehaha County is a stated eligibility criterion, and no amount of service history substitutes for it.
  2. 2Complete the application with your lawyer and bring the DD214 or NGB-22 to that meeting. Both documents are named, so a Guard member with an NGB-22 and no DD214 is not shut out.
  3. 3Expect two assessments, not one: a risk and needs assessment with the court services officer, and a treatment assessment through the provider they refer you to. Approval or denial comes back through your lawyer.
  4. 4Ask which track you are on and read that track’s phases. Track 1 is a minimum of 13 months over four phases; Track 2 is a minimum of 15 months over five. The team can move you between them.
  5. 5Plan around the sober-day thresholds rather than the calendar. Each phase has one — 30, then 60, then 90, then 120 consecutive days — and a positive or missed test costs you programme sober days, which is what actually lengthens the programme.
  6. 6Assume you will be tested. The published rate is a minimum 28% chance on any given day, weekends and holidays included, and you call the line every day to find out.
  7. 7Get the budget conversation started early. Payment on fines is a graduation requirement, and testing, monitoring and treatment costs may be added on top.
  8. 8Use the veterans court defence attorney. They stay with you the whole way, they represent you at sanction and termination hearings, and what you tell them is privileged unless you release it.
  9. 9Meet your mentor twice in phase 1. It is not optional — it is a condition of advancing out of the first phase.
Form
Veterans Court application, completed with your lawyer
File with
The veterans court coordinator, Second Judicial Circuit, Sioux Falls
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionThere is no veterans court statute here. The state’s problem-solving court chapter was read section by section this session: it defines a drug court and a HOPE probation programme, and contains no section naming a veterans court. The veterans court runs as a treatment court under the judiciary and probation. If someone cites you a veterans court act, ask them for the chapter number.
Worth knowingThe published minimums are floors, not forecasts. Phases advance on sober days, and a positive or missed test costs programme sober days — so 13 months is what the programme takes when nothing goes wrong.
Known gapThe handbook is a manual for participants and does not state what graduation earns in the underlying criminal case — dismissal, a reduced charge or a sentence adjustment. It describes probation-based supervision throughout. Ask the coordinator or the veterans court defence attorney what graduation has meant for previous participants.
Worth knowingVeterans courts exist beyond this circuit — the judiciary lists drug, DUI, veterans and mental health courts across all seven judicial circuits — but only this circuit’s veterans court handbook was read this session, and the criteria above are its own.

Sources

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