Legacy of care: Judge honored for role in treating veterans

HOLYOKE — Inside the Holyoke War Memorial Building on Wednesday, Judge Laurie MacLeod sat across from Maurice Young Jr., who appeared for a case status update for a special session of Veterans Treatment Court.

MacLeod inquired about Young’s progress in the treatment court’s recovery program, and was informed he was doing very well and had managed to stay clean. MacLeod asked Young how he was doing and they discussed his family, with Young showing her photos of his wife and kids. Young talked about his progress in staying sober, and how sometimes it was hard to be around other family members if they were drinking. MacLeod praised Young for managing to stay the course in his treatment.

“Everybody here appreciates that and understands,” MacLeod said. “Congratulations.”

And with that, MacLeod’s 10-year career as the presiding judge over the Western Massachusetts Veterans Treatment Court came to end.

The court was established in 2015 with the goal of handling criminal cases involving defendants who have a history of military service, providing them treatment for substance abuse as well as mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and sexual trauma.

The Western Massachusetts Veterans Treatment Court, which serves veterans in Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden counties and is usually located in Holyoke District Court, is one of seven such courts across the state. MacLeod was named as the inaugural judge for the court, and remained so ever since until Wednesday.

Following the session, a special ceremony was held to honor MacLeod’s work with the treatment court. In a speech, MacLeod said that the court was founded on a “radical idea” of a court that functioned differently than other courts of justice in the state.

“The general idea is to provide support to restore veterans to their full potential,” MacLeod said. “They have so much potential, and they’re showing it to you. How did we do that? The Veterans Treatment Court paid attention to them. It gave them support.”

MacLeod said that over the course of her 10 years of service in the court, there have been 86 veterans who have graduated from the court’s 18-month recovery program. Some of those graduates, MacLeod said, have gone on to regain custody of their children, get new jobs and become homeowners. MacLeod credited the rest of the team at the Veterans Treatment Court, such as Chief Probation Officer Sean McBride, for providing guidance in her work.

“My decisions were always grounded in information provided to me by everybody who’s on the team,” MacLeod said. “I always always grounded on the information I received from the clinicians, because obviously I wasn’t trained as a clinician and so I don’t know what’s the right thing to do sometimes.”

Also speaking at the ceremony was Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, who credited MacLeod for efforts to ensure the court fulfills its promise of making sure military veterans are not left behind.

“This is really a day of gratitude, gratitude for you, judge, for all of your humanity,” Sullivan said. “It’s because of her humanity, her compassion, her empathy that this court has worked the way it’s worked.”

Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, who came into office in 2015 shortly before the court’s establishment, noted the collaboration between his office and the Northwestern DA’s office to ensure the treatment court can serve veterans regionwide.

“Very often, our veterans are in the position they’re in to commit a crime because of the very service to our country and the issues that come from it,” Gulluni said. “So it’s our obligation to return that honor to them and give them this resource and this path towards a better life.”

MacLeod will be succeeded in the court by District Court Judge Greg Teran, who himself is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Although Teran was not present at Wednesday’s ceremony, MacLeod expressed confidence in his ability to lead the court.

“I’m sure he will preside with such integrity over this awesome court,” MacLeod said. “There will be an excellent stewardship on his part.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.