Judith A. Litzenberger, Executive Director

Judith A.”Jude” Litzenberger is Executive Director of the California Veterans Legal Task Force and Coordinator for the Veterans Treatment Review Calendar in San Diego Superior Court.  Jude has been instrumental in recruiting and training the collaborative team that supports the Veterans Treatment Court in San Diego County. As co-chair of the Returning Veterans Legal Task Force, she has worked for three years on community education and development to bring all key players to the table in designing a VTC that incorporates lessons learned in other VTC ventures, maximizes the intricacies of California law, and is built on ensuring safe communities and getting timely and appropriate treatment for her fellow veterans.  Jude has developed and presented community educational programs on veterans treatment court to approximately 1000 justice professionals;  attorneys, judges, probation officers, treatment providers and law enforcement officers.

Jude is a retired Navy line officer with significant fiscal and management experience. She has managed a successful private law practice, serving military personnel and their families in military courts martial, civilian trial courts and administrative venues.  Jude has represented returning veterans and consulted with counsel on scores of criminal cases involving mental defenses including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and psychological war wounds.

In addition to a juris doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law, Jude holds graduate degrees in Psychology and Education and has completed specialized training at the National Center for PTSD in Menlo Park.  Jude serves as Co-Chair of the Community Advisory Board for UCSD INTRuST Clinical Consortium, which reviews proposals for clinical research in PTSD and TBI under consideration for DoD funding.  Jude chaired the Military Law Committee of the San Diego County Bar Association for two years, served on the boards of Walden Family Services, Inc. and Uptown Faith Community Service Center, and was appointed in 2008 by Mayor Sanders as a member of the City of San Diego's Citizen's Review Board on Police Practices.  

Jude recruits and trains volunteer military and civilian defense attorneys for Operation Stand Down and has presented legal issues at national conferences including Veterans' Services Officers and homeless veterans advocacy organizations.  She has also provided testimony and assistance to California and U.S. legislators regarding legislation that impacts justice-involved veterans.

For her service to veterans, Jude is the recipient of the 2011 President’s Pro Bono Service Award (Individual Attorney) presented by the California State Bar Association.

Duncan MacVicar                                                                                             

A Vietnam veteran who has experienced post-traumatic stress, Duncan MacVicar concentrates on those veterans with service-related mental health issues. To this end, he has worked with officials in the federal Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, advocating for improved screening, evaluation, and suicide prevention for troops returning from combat. He also is a frequent speaker on the subject of “Invisible Wounds of War.”

Duncan works nationally to promote diversion and alternative sentencing for veterans, seeking formal recognition of the value of treatment over incarceration for traumatized veterans accused of a crime. His work has supported the efforts of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, the Justice Policy Institute, Swords to Plowshares, and California’s Department of Veterans Affairs and Administrative Office of the Court.

Duncan spends most of his time working with CVLTF to establish Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) throughout Northern California. In this arena, he helps to assemble teams of criminal justice professionals and service providers, and he guides them toward creating the appropriate form of VTC for their jurisdictions. Major activities include speaking to collaboratives of veteran service providers, meeting with Individual county and court officials, and participating in meetings of VTC teams in formation. Over the past two years (2011 and 2012), he has worked with officials in over 20 counties, and he has been involved in the formation of three new VTCs. Important elements of this work are his close partnerships within the federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet).

Duncan holds degrees from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and from UC Berkeley. He served in Vietnam as a captain in the Army Engineers. Later, he worked at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Hewlett-Packard, and Spectra-Physics, and spent 25 years as a management consultant, advising high-tech company presidents on strategy. Duncan founded three high-tech companies, serving as CEO of one. He has written a book on entrepreneurship entitled "Managing High-tech Start-ups".