United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is a federal court of record

Court of record

In common law jurisdictions, a court of record is a judicial tribunal having attributes and exercising functions independently of the person of the magistrate designated generally to hold it, and proceeding according to the course of common law, its acts and proceedings being enrolled for a...

that was established under Article I of the United States Constitution. The court has exclusive national jurisdiction to provide independent, federal, judicial oversight and review of final decisions of the Board of Veterans' Appeals

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...

(Board).

Overview

The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is commonly referred to as the Veterans Court, USCAVC, or simply CAVC. The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims was formerly named the United States Court for Veterans Appeals, but was changed by the Veterans Programs Enhancement Act on March 1, 1999 (Pub.L. No. 105-368). The Veterans Court is referred to in case citation

Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...

s by the designation "Vet. App." Opinions for the Veterans Court and other information about the Court can be found at www.uscourts.cavc.gov. The Veterans Court is located in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

but may sit anywhere in the United States. While the Board of Veterans' Appeals is a part of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

, the Veterans Court is not a part of the VA, it is an independent federal court. The Veterans Court hears oral arguments and reviews final Board decisions, the record before the agency, and the briefs of the parties for each appeal.

Jurisdiction

The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has "exclusive jurisdiction to review decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals . . . [with the] power to affirm, modify, or reverse a decision of the Board [of Veterans' Appeals] or to remand the matter, as appropriate."

History

The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims was created on November 18, 1988, by the Veterans' Judicial Review Act of 1988

Judicial review

Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are subject to review by the judiciary. Specific courts with judicial review power must annul the acts of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher authority...

. Prior to the establishment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, from the U.S. Revolutionary War to 1988, there was no judicial recourse for veterans who were denied benefits. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

, formerly titled the Veterans Administration, was the only federal administrative agency that operated without independent judicial oversight. The Board of Veterans' Appeals, which is a part of the Department of Veterans Affairs, provided the final decision in a veteran's claim for benefits.

Veterans, advocacy groups, and veterans service organizations fought and urged Congress to provide judicial review of VA decisions since the 1950s. The lack of judicial review persisted, however, until the increase in veterans claims following the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. The struggles of these veterans to obtain VA benefits highlighted the lack of independent oversight in the adjudication process. The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs initially resisted, noting that the Department of Veterans Affairs stood in "splendid isolation as the single federal administrative agency whose major functions were explicitly insulated from judicial review."

After decades of debate, on November 18, 1988, Congress created the U.S. Court of Veterans Claims. The U.S. Court of Veterans Claims is one of the very few federal courts that have been created since the ratification of the United States Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

. On March 1, 1999, the Court's name was changed from the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims through the Veterans Programs Enhancement Act (Pub.L. No. 105-368).

Judges

Judges to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims are appointed by the President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

and confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

, the same as Article III Judges

Article I and Article III tribunals

In the United States, the American legal system includes both state courts and United States federal courts. The federal tribunals may be an Article III tribunal or another adjudicative body classified as an Article I or an Article IV tribunal...

. The Judges are appointed to serve fifteen year appointments. Retired Judges are routinely recalled to active service to assist the Court in issuing its decisions in a timely manner.
The seven active judges are:

Judge	Began active service	Ended active service	Appointed by
Chief Judge Chief judge Chief Judge is a title that can refer to the highest-ranking judge of a court that has more than one judge. The meaning and usage of the term vary from one court system to another...	2003
George W. Bush
	1997
Bill Clinton
	2003
George W. Bush
	2004
George W. Bush
	2003
George W. Bush
	2004
George W. Bush
	2004
George W. Bush

Former judges include:

Judge	Began active service	Ended active service	Appointed by
	1989	2000	George H. W. Bush
	1990	2002	George H. W. Bush
	1989	2004	George H. W. Bush
	1989	2004	George H. W. Bush
	1990	2005	George H. W. Bush
	1990	2005	George H. W. Bush
	1989	1995	George H. W. Bush

External links

http://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/
http://www.cavcbar.net/index.html
http://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/orders_and_opinions/Opinions.cfm
http://www.va.gov/
http://www.pva.org/
http://www.vetsprobono.org/
http://vlex.com/source/us-code-veterans-benefits-1037
http://openlibrary.org/b/OL17835255M/Veterans'_Judicial_Review_Act

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