Sturm College of Law Veterans Advocacy Project Helps Veterans Regain Benefits
Clinic has recovered more than $16.2 million for Colorado veterans
Sturm College of Law Veterans Advocacy Project Helps Veterans Regain Benefits
Clinic has recovered more than $16.2 million for Colorado veterans
The Veterans Advocacy Project (VAP) at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law specializes in helping veterans with upgrading their discharge status to receive much needed benefits. Since the clinic launched in 2015, the VAP has assisted more than 400 veterans in filing discharge upgrades to the Department of Defense, obtaining compensation and healthcare from the Department of Veterans Affairs with more than $16.2 million recovered for veterans.
A student run clinic, the VAP prioritizes homeless and disabled veterans, and those suffering from trauma such as Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which many veterans suffer on return from deployment.
“Since 2001, the Department of Veterans Affairs, acting independently and without oversight, has unfairly and unjustly barred over 125,000 veterans from compensation and health benefits,” said Brad Cummings (JD’19, LLM’20) VAP clinical fellow.
This number, accounting for 6.5 percent of veterans, encompasses post-9/11 and Gulf War servicemembers, and reflects a drastic increase from previous conflicts. By contrast to the treatment of recent veterans, only 2.8 percent of Vietnam veterans and 1.7 percent of WWII veterans were barred from compensation.
While Congressional mandate bars service members with “dishonorable” discharges from receiving benefits, the VA has opted to expand this to include “bad paper” discharges, including those with the characterization of Other than Honorable (OTH). The vast majority of veterans with OTH discharges have been administratively separated and afforded little due process.
Administrative separation boards, as a rule, are convened by the servicemember’s commander when a negative action has been reported. This may consist of nonjudicial punishment, a letter of reprimand, or sub-standard performance evaluations.
“While the term ‘administrative separation’ may sound innocuous, the implications for military members are dire,” said Cummings. “In many of these cases, the misconduct in question is directly attributable to PTS or TBI. Despite this, there are no mental health professionals assigned to the board, and panel members are free to decide by their own observations whether mental health was a contributing factor.”
Unlike civilian criminal court where guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, a separation board must simply judge by a preponderance of the evidence (51 percent).
Administrative separation boards may levy discharge characterizations of General and OTH. While General is considered “honorable,” veterans with this characterization are barred from receiving GI Bill education benefits. By contrast, an OTH discharge completely bars a veteran from all benefits post-service and is considered a felony distinction.
“The ability of the board to recommend a felonious discharge, for largely misdemeanor offenses, is a fundamental violation of a servicemember’s rights,” said Cummings.
The VAP specializes in helping veterans who have received these distinctions with upgrading their discharge status to receive much needed benefits.
