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Nov. 11, 2025

Judge Laura Birkmeyer's Veterans Court puts structure at the center of recovery

From prosecuting methamphetamine cases in 1990s San Diego to presiding over Veterans Treatment Court, Superior Court Judge Laura Birkmeyer applies the same investigative rigor to recovery that she once brought to dismantling drug supply chains--measuring progress in sobriety milestones and structured accountability.

Read more about Laura J. Birkmeyer...
Judge Laura Birkmeyer's Veterans Court puts structure at the center of recovery

Laura J. Birkmeyer

San Diego County Superior Court

Career Highlights: Appointed San Diego County Superior Court judge by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dec. 12, 2005; executive assistant U.S. attorney, San Diego, 2002-05; chief, narcotics enforcement section, U.S. attorney's office, 1995-2000; assistant U.S. attorney, 1986-2005; deputy district attorney, San Diego County, 1986; judicial law clerk, U.S. District Judge J. Lawrence Irving, 1984-86

Law School: UCLA School of Law, 1984 
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SAN DIEGO -- Each Wednesday afternoon, Judge Laura J. Birkmeyer opens her Veterans Treatment Court calendar with the same question: "How many days sober?"

The answers vary -- 24, 560, 618. Each number earns applause from every corner of the courtroom: attorneys, probation officers, mentors and fellow participants waiting their turn.

Birkmeyer nods, makes a note, and moves to logistics -- treatment placement, probation compliance, next review date. Th... (continued)

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