Editor's note: Registration for this event has been extended since the publication of this story. The new deadline to register for veterans is Friday, Oct. 18.
On Nov. 3, a satellite building for the veteran’s hospital in Tampa will transform into a courtroom for the day.
Three Hillsborough County judges will convene a specialized Veterans Outreach Court designed to help veterans quickly resolve minor legal issues and forgive, or reduce, court debts.
“This is our opportunity to say, ‘Thank you for your service,’ and not just in word alone,” Judge Daryl Manning said.
Along with Manning, Judges Kimberly Brennan and Michael Williams will exclusively settle misdemeanor issues, like outstanding traffic tickets or overdue court fees. Other cases, including felony warrants or those already pending in Veterans Treatment Court, will not be heard.
Judge Manning, who is a veteran himself, helped launch the program in 2016.
In its first six years, 229 veterans were assisted, totaling 930 resolved cases and nearly $250,000 in forgiven court debt, according to court data.
Manning said that while the program was initially designed to assist low-income veterans, the need in the community has since grown.
“Initially, we did start with only low-income veterans. But we see that there's a need, even with middle class individuals that are living paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “So, we have some [veterans] that have no income, we have some that do have income.”
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Manning encouraged all veterans – even those who don’t know of any active legal matters involving them – to register online. Ineligible participants are notified by phone.
“It's surprising, sometimes a veteran didn't even know that they had a ticket from 2013 that went into collections, that has doubled in size and is at a 40% rate of interest,” he said.
The Veterans Outreach Court event will be held at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital Primary Care VA Annex, at 13515 Lake Terrace Lane. In addition to the 13th Judicial Circuit and Hillsborough County Veteran Services, participating agencies include the county's state attorney's office, public defender's office and clerk of court.
Veterans must register by Friday, Oct. 13, at hillsclerk.com.
Gabriella Paul covers the stories of people living paycheck to paycheck in the greater Tampa Bay region for WUSF. She's also a Report for America corps member. Here’s how you can share your story with her.
