New Book

Worthy of Justice

The Politics of Veterans Treatment Courts in Practice

In Worthy of Justice, Jamie Rowen examines Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) as a window into the deep inequalities of the U.S. criminal legal system. Drawing on fieldwork across three courts, Rowen shows how veterans are treated as uniquely “worthy” of support because of who they are, not what they’ve done—revealing the contradictions at the heart of punishment and welfare in America.

Winner of Honorable Mention for the C. Herman Pritchett Best Book Award-Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

The Conversation | May 20, 2026

Veterans’ Treatment Courts Help Veterans Stay Out of Jail

Veterans Treatment Courts are uniquely able to aid veterans because of resources provided by the VA. With ongoing staffing losses and cuts to VA delivered healthcare, these programs may be less effective at their work.

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Is Democracy Doomed? | May 2026

Lawyers, Veterans, and the Durability of US Democracy

This chapter, in Austin Sarat’s edited volume Is Democracy Doomed?, focuses on US lawyers and veterans as two interest groups that are challenging executive authority and reinforcing democratic institutions. These two groups deploy different repertoires of action that help illustrate leverage points to undermine democratic backsliding.

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Human Rights Quarterly | May 2024

The Paradox of Diasporic Peacebuilding Amidst Violence:
Providing Reparations to Colombians Abroad

This article uses the case of Colombian migrants in the United States (U.S.) who are registered with the Colombian Unit for Victims to illustrate the tension that emerges when a home country commits to reparations for nationals in exile when violence in their home country has not ceased. 

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Law & Social Inquiry | May 2024

Strategic Adaptation in a Crisis: Treatment
Court Responses to COVID-19

This article draws on a case study of how Massachusetts treatment courts responded
to the COVID-19 pandemic to address two intersecting theoretical and policy questions…

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