Worthy of Justice

The Politics of Veterans Treatment Courts in Practice

Jamie Rowen

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English

Stanford University Press
09 December 2025

Crime & criminology; Criminal procedure

Over the past three decades, jurisdictions across the United States have developed alternatives to traditional criminal procedures and punishments for adults accused of crimes that are associated with substance use and mental health disorders. The Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) is one example of these problem-solving courts. VTCs benefit from the availability of extensive (and free) medical and social services through the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as the social and political legitimacy that comes with serving veterans.

Worthy of Justice takes this specific form of problem-solving court as lens for examining broader social inequalities in the criminal legal system. Jamie Rowen argues that the rationale for VTCs flows not from what veterans have done but from who they are. Their operations are fueled by the notion that their participants' criminal behavior is the result of military service rather than other personal choices made, thus making them uniquely worthy of public support. In this way, VTCs powerfully expose the contradictions inherent in the idea that criminals deserve punishment.

Rowen draws on fieldwork at three such courts across the US. Ultimately, she illustrates how the politics of crime and the politics of welfare increasingly intersect and, together, construct classes of Americans who are either worthy, or not.

By: Jamie Rowen
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781503644663
ISBN 10: 1503644669
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 09 December 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jamie Rowen is Director of the Center for Justice, Law and Societies, and Associate Professor of Political Science and Legal Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is the author of Searching for Truth in the Transitional Justice Movement (2017).

Reviews for Worthy of Justice: The Politics of Veterans Treatment Courts in Practice

""Worthy of Justice provides an in-depth, well-executed look at Veteran Treatment Courts (VTCs) to understand both the policy frameworks that drive them and how they work out on the ground.Rowenfills an important gap in the literature by considering a court that is in some ways defined by the general belief that its participants are worthy and deserving. A highly interesting and important book."" --Julie Novkov, University at Albany, SUNY ""Rowen beautifully illustrates constructions of deservingness and the nexus of intersecting social policies. This book is useful for policymakers and stakeholders who are involved with or are considering engagement with VTCs, as well as for those who are interested in or work with veterans, or veterans themselves. An engaging and accessible book that covers new conceptual ground."" --Corey Schdaimah, co-author of The Compassionate Court?: Support, Surveillance, and Survival in Prostitution Diversion Programs