On March 12-13, the Court will be at the Arizona State Fairgrounds help veterans clear their criminal records of fines, fees, and other unresolved minor legal issues so they can move forward with their lives.
“Sometimes the smallest legal matters can stand in the way of someone fully integrating back into the community,” Criminal Department Administrator Nicole Garcia said. “By removing these obstacles, veterans can forge a path to gain employment, obtain a driver license, restore their civil rights, or secure housing.”
Eight judicial officers and ten court administration staff will operate two courtrooms at the event. Employees from the Adult Probation Department will also be on site to assist veterans currently on probation and make recommendations to the court. For individuals wanting information, the Court will have information booths from various court departments.
“In our community, many veterans are just one incident away from becoming homeless, and many vets are simply unaware of all the services and resources available to them,” said Deputy Criminal Department Administrator Chris Candelaria. “But this event makes it easy because we welcome all veterans regardless of their discharge status, the length of their service or their military assignment. We want all veterans that need help to be at the event.”
A total of 158 hearings were held for 84 veterans with 186 receiving services from the Judicial Branch at the 2025 event.
“As members of the community, we are grateful to those who have served our country as members of the Armed Forces,” said Criminal Department Administrator Nicole Garcia. “We understand that it can be hard to step forward and ask for assistance, and sometimes even just the idea of having outstanding legal matters can be overwhelming. The Judicial Branch is here to assist our veterans navigate some of these matters - having outstanding or old legal issues doesn’t need to be an impediment to moving forward in your life.”
The Maricopa County Veteran StandDown, a program of the Arizona Housing Coalition, began in 2001. The program connects Arizona’s military veterans with community resources and services, including healthcare, mental health services, clothing, meals, emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing, ID/driver licenses, court services and legal aid, showers and haircuts. For more information, visit the https://azhousingcoalition.org/avsa/