Johnson County’s veterans treatment court honored its latest program graduates with a ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at the Johnson County Courthouse.

Among the graduates included the first graduate to serve in the Coast Guard. A total of four veterans were honored during the graduation:

• Mark Sterling – Army (1985-1989)
• Justin Scoville – Coast Guard, Active Duty (2002-2022)
• Andrew Bergman – Army (2001-2015)
• Brian Burch – Army (2006-2012)

After Wednesday’s ceremony, a total of 79 veterans have graduated from veterans treatment court in Johnson County.

District Court Judge Timothy P. McCarthy, who spearheaded the effort to bring veterans treatment court to the county, presided over the recognition ceremony. Courthouse and county officials were present for the ceremony.

Johnson County District Court founded the first treatment court for veterans in the state of Kansas in January 2016. A year later, veterans treatment court recognized its first veteran to graduate from the program.

A behavioral health court and an adult treatment court launched in 2023, joining the county's veterans treatment court in serving individuals’ mental health and substance use disorder needs.

Veterans treatment court’s mission is to identify veterans in the criminal justice system and to place eligible service people into treatment and court supervision as an alternative to incarceration.

In 2008, Judge Robert Russell in Buffalo, New York, began the first docket dedicated to veterans after he saw an increase in the number of military servicemen appearing on his drug and mental health court dockets.

Learn more about Veterans Treatment Court  and court services available in Johnson County.