The Fresno area law librarians have brainstormed yet again and voted on a new name for our monthly article submission to the Bar Bulletin; it is
my pleasure to write the first article under this new title, Over-Due Diligence. We hope you like it and continue to find our articles interesting and useful.
VETERANS’ LAW
By Kerry Prindiville, San Joaquin College of Law
Brief Overview:
Veterans’ law is administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through their adjudication process. The most common claims the VA handles are for disability benefits and pensions, but educational and medical benefits, as well as home loans are other areas within the systems parameters. Two characteristics define the adjudication process: 1) attorneys are now allowed to assist claimants at the beginning of the process, and 2) there are a number of checks and balances with which the VA must comply to help a claimant move a claim along before a decision is made on a claimant’s application. Once a decision is made and denied, a claimant can appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC), (which issued its first decision in 1990), created by the Veterans Judicial Review Act of 1988. The next level of appeal would be the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, limited to questions of law only, and finally to the U.S. Supreme court, which is very rare.
Brief History:
The full history of veterans’ law is very interesting, but too long to get into for the purposes of this article. The following is a brief sketch to give you a better understanding of agency and how it developed. The development of Veterans’ benefits can be traced back to the revolutionary war, but the modern structure originates from World War 1. In the early days of WW1, the Bureau of War Risk Insurance was created to offer insurance to American ships and their cargos. This was amended in 1917 to include loss of life insurance to American soldiers who were on merchant ships captured by the enemy. This amendment also offered government subsidized life insurance to veterans and other legislation provided a discharge allowance. Additional provisions and acts followed establishing medical services and disability and vocational training. Unfortunately, this system proved to be ineffective because veterans had to apply to several different larger agencies often resulting in their claims being low priority. Due to pressure from veterans groups, by the end of 1930, the consolidation of veterans’ programs was completed and the VA was born (VA History in Brief, Dept. of Veterans Affairs). In 1958, Congress re-codified veterans’ law and when you look at the USCS or USCA this is where the researcher is misled to believe the law began rather than the actual initial enactment or consolidation of veterans benefits in 1930 (46 Stat. 1016).
Researching:
Due to its history, Veterans’ law is not an easy area to research. The current version of the codes and regulations can be confusing because they give you the impression that resources in this area only began in 1958; when many were enacted in the 1930’s. There are also numerous specialized areas that have their own unique procedures and rules, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Agent Orange claims, Gulf War illnesses, and other military service issues. The resources below are relevant and helpful, but are in no way inclusive. They can be used as a starting point if you are asked to assist a client with a veterans’ law question or simply a guide to further reading for historical purposes. If the latter is the case, check out the Veterans Law library website listed below.
Primary Resources:
Statutory Law:
Title 38 USC - of particular relevance to the adjudication process, chapters 11, 13, 51, 53, 71, and 72
Regulatory Law:
Title 38 CFR - of particular relevance to the adjudication process, chapters 3, 4, 19, and 20
VA Adjudication Manual M21-1, http://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/Site_Map.asp
VA Office of the General Counsel, Precedent Decisions, http://www4.va.gov/ogc/precedentopinions.asp
Secondary Resources:
Federal Veteran Laws, Rules and Regulations, 2012, LexisNexis
Veterans Affairs Law, 2012, Carolina Academic Press
Veterans Benefits Manual, 2012, LexisNexis
Veterans Law Review, http://www.bva.va.gov/VLR.asp
References used for this article:
James D. Ridgway, Recovering an Institutional Memory: The Origins of the Modern Veterans’ Benefits System from 1914 to 1958 (2013) 5
Veterans L. Rev. 1
James D. Ridgway, The Splendid Isolation Revisited: Lessons from the History of Veterans’ Benefits Before Judicial Review (2011) 3 Veterans L.
Rev. 135
VA History in Brief, http://www1.va.gov/opa/publications/archives/docs/history_in_brie f.pdf, accessed 10/15/13
Veterans Law Library, http://veteranslawlibrary.com/index.html