Judge Michael Jackson retired from the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in 2019, leaving behind one of the most successful Veterans Treatment Courts (VTC) in the country. For his efforts, he received three national awards from All Rise’s Justice For Vets, Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. When he ran for judge in 2012, after a 30-year career in private practice, establishing a VTC was one of his primary motivations.
“I wanted to start a Veterans Treatment Court for felonies or more serious crimes,” he said. “And, when I was elected, the other 33 members of the bench in Cuyahoga County supported my idea, and it became a reality.”
A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Jackson was a lieutenant in Vietnam, where he served for 13 months as a platoon leader and company commander. The recipient of a Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars, and four other decorations, he is intimately familiar with the challenges facing veterans when they return home. Jackson decided that his VTC would focus first and foremost on treatment and that just as in the military, no one would be left behind.
“In Veterans Treatment Court, if someone violated the rules and was appearing before me, there were 75 other veterans who were also in the program, sitting there listening,” he said. “The response from the veterans sitting there was, ‘We have your back. You’ll do better. Talk to us the next time you have a problem.’”
In Judge Jackson’s VTC, everyone operating the court was a veteran, from the attorneys to the probation officers, and of course, the judge.
“We had a lot of common experiences and common attitudes about dealing with things because we were in the military,” he said. “That shared military experience is really the special sauce that makes it work.”
There were personal rewards for Judge Jackson, too. After decades of trying to come to terms with his experience in Vietnam, leading the VTC helped him heal. He tells a story about a veteran who came to court, who had violated the rules and tested positive for drugs. When Judge Jackson asked him why he had relapsed, his reply hit close to home.
“He said to me, ‘There’s one week every year that’s very hard for me because I served with some people and we were in combat, and they didn’t make it. And I made it. And last week was that time period, and I wasn’t strong enough to handle it, and I relapsed,’” Jackson said. “The courtroom was filled with all of the other vets, and they were wondering what I was going to do. And I said, ‘My days were June 4, 5, and 6.’ My ability to share that with him was very helpful, and then we worked with him to address his relapse.”
Although he’s retired and in his early eighties, Jackson continues to advocate for those who have served. He is working with retired Supreme Court of Ohio Justice Eve Stratton on several pieces of pending legislation to help veterans, and he is a member of two statewide committees that address veterans’ issues. In 2021, the Public Broadcasting Service selected Jackson to tell his story in the series “The American Veteran.” In 2022, he was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.
When he reflects on the decision to run for judge, he remembers questioning if he wanted to take on a role with such an extraordinary amount of responsibility.
“I knew I would make decisions that would affect the lives of veterans and other members of our community,” he said. “I related that responsibility to the decisions I made in combat. I had to decide to take that risk and to handle it as best as I could.”
With more than 100 veterans’ lives transformed by completing the VTC, it’s fair to say he handled it extraordinarily well.
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation is the largest funder of civil legal services in Ohio. A gift to the Foundation supports Ohio’s veterans.