Friday is the final day of a social services event for veterans at the state fairgrounds. It includes satellite courtrooms so former military can clear their records of fines, fees and other minor legal issues.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney presides over one of the courtrooms.
The 28-year Army veteran asks fellow soldiers how they ended up here. If a veteran wants their probation to end early, or have a past offense labeled a misdemeanor, Blaney decides yay or nay.
“It helps them get things like driver's licenses. It helps them get things like housing, education. All the things that they need to once again be independent like they used to be,” Blaney said.
Nearly 160 court hearings were held last year during the event known as Maricopa County Veteran Stand Down. And about 200 former military members received judicial services.
“A lot of the people that we are seeing today are people very similar to the people I served with in Iraq. Very similar to the people I’ve served with in Afghanistan,” Blaney said.
All veterans are welcome at the event, regardless of discharge status, length of service or military occupation.
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