Veterans Claims Appeals Court Hears Oral Arguments at University of Detroit Law School

The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims recently held a session of the court in an unusual courtroom – at the University of Detroit’s Mercy Rule of Law.

The CAVC heard oral arguments in a case at the law school as part of Mercy’s Veterans Appellate Clinic in October. The clinic gives students an opportunity to represent veterans in their service-related disability claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The court heard the case of Michele D. Burden in her claim against the VA, which denied her widow’s benefits in a dispute over the validity of her common law marriage in Alabama. The claimant was married to the veteran at the time of his death in 2004, but they had not been married for a full year. Since she was not married to the deceased before or during his service, she claimed that, under Alabama law, they had a common law marriage. The VA disagreed and so the appeal brought the case before the CAVC.

The court has a narrow jurisdiction. Its job is to review final decisions from the VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals. The court gives veterans judicial overview of their benefit claims with the VA.

When the court visited Detroit for the oral arguments, it stayed for two days, spending one day leading a class and teaching students how to prosecute claims. The law school limits the class to six students per term, so there was plenty of access to the judges.

Congress created the CVAC in 1988 when an influx of claims by Vietnam veterans made it clear that the VA’s process needed updating. Until then, there was no access to judicial review for veterans’ claims, according to the CVAC website. Since then, Congress has lifted restrictions on veterans who wanted paid legal representation in their claims against the VA. First, service members and veterans were allowed paid representation in claims before the CVAC and then later they were allowed to hire a lawyer at the beginning of the process.

The Veterans Appellate Clinic at Mercy includes classes in issue framing and appellate strategy. The students also learn about electronic case filing and conformance to court rules, according to the curriculum.

The school has another Veterans Clinic class in conjunction with its Mobile Law Office called Project SALUTE. Students in this class get to help veterans and their families gain benefits in claims with the VA.

Project SALUTE is an RV that travels to work with lower-income veterans mostly in the school’s home state of Michigan.

The oral arguments heard at the University of Detroit’s law school by the CVAC were open to the public and local attorneys who practice veteran’s disability law came to the school to watch the proceedings.

James G. Fausone is a Veterans disability lawyer and Veterans attorney with Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC. Learn more at http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com.

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