New York Times
Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles
By Deborah Sontag and Lizette Alvarez, January 13, 2008
"Brockton D. Hunter, a criminal defense lawyer in Minneapolis, told colleagues in a recent lecture at the Minnesota State Bar Association that society should try harder to prevent veterans from self-destructing."
"To truly support our troops, we need to apply our lessons from history and newfound knowledge about PTSD to help the most troubled of our returning veterans," Mr. Hunter said. "To deny the frequent connection between combat trauma and subsequent criminal behavior is to deny one of the direct societal costs of war and to discard another generation of troubled heroes."" Link to Full Story
New York Times
In More Cases, Combat Trauma Is Taking the Stand
By Deborah Sontag and Lizette Alvarez, January 27, 2008
"Occasionally it works.
Anthony J. Klecker, a former marine, pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide for a drunken crash that killed a high school cheerleader, Deanna Casey, in Minnesota in 2006. But his lawyer argued that Mr. Klecker, 29, who had already spent a year in jail, should be sentenced to six months of inpatient treatment instead of the 48 months in prison called for by sentencing guidelines.
"Tony would never, ever claim his war experiences, associated psychological injuries and alcoholism should excuse him from responsibility for Ms. Casey's death," his lawyer, Brockton D. Hunter, wrote the judge. But, he said, Mr. Klecker was a "psychological casualty of the war in Iraq who unsuccessfully sought treatment from an overstrained Veterans Administration."
The state judge agreed to impose the alternative sentence, and Mr. Klecker was admitted to a dual program for substance abuse and PTSD at the Veterans Affairs hospital in St. Cloud, Minn." Link to Full Story
New York Times
After the Battle, Fighting the Bottle at Home
By Lizette Alvarez, July 8, 2008
"Before joining the Marines, Mr. Klecker drank and smoked marijuana, but not heavily, said his lawyer, Brockton Hunter. He was once stopped for drinking and driving, but the charge was downgraded to careless driving because his blood-alcohol level was just over the limit.
After Iraq, he shipped out to Okinawa and did what many marines do there: he drank - a lot. But it was not until he left the Marines and returned home to suburban St. Paul that his panic attacks, nightmares and insomnia worsened. So did his drinking. He rarely spoke about the war, and only to other veterans.
Soon he racked up arrests for drinking and fighting, and Mr. Hunter persuaded him to go to the Veterans Affairs center for help. As often happens, the experience did not take. Mr. Klecker says he was shuttled from one counselor to another. Trying to talk about Iraq threw him into a panic.
He hit bottom on Oct. 28, 2006, when he drunkenly drove into a highway divider. It dislodged, trapping another driver, Deanna Casey, 16, of Minneapolis, who was killed when a tractor-trailer rammed her small car.
"If I could switch my life with Deanna's, I would in a heartbeat," Mr. Klecker said. "I didn't ask for help, and I should have."
Afterward, Mr. Klecker received a full veterans disability rating for combat stress. At Mr. Klecker's trial for vehicular manslaughter, the judge recognized the war's role in his disintegration and accepted his lawyer's request for a special deal: After a year in jail, Mr. Klecker moved into an intensive inpatient program at the St. Cloud veterans facility to deal first with his drinking and then his combat stress." Link to Full Story
City Pages
Minnesota Becomes Second State to Offer Treatment to Veterans Who Commit Crimes: Legislators Say it Makes More Sense to Rehabilitate
by Beth Walton, May 19, 2008
"Last week, Minnesota became the second state in the nation to pass a sentence-mitigation bill for veterans facing criminal prosecution who suffer from combat related mental health disorders. Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed the bill into law the evening of May 12, meaning courts will now be allowed to consider treatment over incarceration. California passed a similar law in 2007.
The legislation, tucked into the Reentry Omnibus Bill, requires the courts to inquire whether a defendant facing criminal proceedings is a veteran. By establishing military service, attorneys can then order a psychological evaluation. If a veteran is found to be suffering from a combat related mental illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder, the courts will work with the Department of Veterans Affairs so that treatment can be considered as part of the sentencing.
"I really do believe the judges will consider this, and use it as a condition of probation," says Brockton Hunter, a veteran and current legislative chair of the Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "Military veterans have a heck of a time asking for help. They're proud and they're trained to believe that they can handle anything."" Read Full Story
Minnesota Lawyer
Defending Iraq War Vets
by By Michelle Lore, July 9, 2007
"The recent high-profile case involving Iraq war veteran Anthony Klecker -whose drunken driving caused the death of a 16-year-old high school cheerleader - highlights some of the issues criminal defense attorneys face in representing returning war veterans who experience run-ins with the law.
Klecker's attorney, Brockton Hunter of Minneapolis - who is an Army veteran himself - has represented numerous soldiers who have returned home and gotten into legal trouble.
"Unfortunately, the war in Iraq in particular, and to a lesser extent the Afghan War, has caused a lot of psychological casualties," Hunter recently told Minnesota Lawyer. "It's a guerilla war. Soldiers never know what to expect next and are on edge all the time. That feeds into this kind of anxiety disorder."You are dealing with people who have gone through incredibly horrific experiences, Hunter said. "Most don't want to talk about them. They may carry around guilt over what they were forced to do in combat. In fact, the more action they've seen, the less likely they are to talk about it."
Moreover, these men and women are coming out of a "warrior" culture and are conditioned not to show weakness or admit when they are suffering, according to Hunter.
But being charged with a crime can, in fact, serve a valuable function for returning war veterans.
A criminal charge can be the catalyst to show them that they have a problem that they have to deal with, said Hunter. Entry into the criminal justice system can sometimes be used as a tool to get them the help they need, he added." Link to Full Story
Minnesota Lawyer
Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Present Challenges for the Criminal Justice System
by Dan Heilman, Associate Editor, October 27, 2008
"We've had 1.7 million people deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and almost half of them have gone back more than once," said Minneapolis criminal defense attorney Brockton Hunter, who works extensively with veteran defendants. "About 600,000 of those people have PTSD or TBI [traumatic brain injury], and less than half of them get the help they need. Those are the ones who pop up in the criminal courts."
"Hunter said combat trauma can be linked to criminal behavior in two ways: Symptoms of PTSD can incidentally lead to criminal behavior, or offenses can be directly connected to the trauma the veteran experienced. For example, he noted, hundreds of thousands of Vietnam veterans are homeless, addicted or incarcerated 35 years after the last American troops were brought back from that war." Link to Full Story
Brockton D. Hunter, P.A.
Lake Calhoun Executive Center
3033 Excelsior Boulevard, Suite 550
Minneapolis, MN 55416
Telephone: 612-874-1625
E-mail
