Spring 2008 • Vol. 35, No. 2
Spring 2008 - Is America Serving its Veterans?
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Includes Articles on:
Human Rights Hero: |
Special Section
A Conversation with Judge Nancy Gertner
Human Rights recently interviewed Judge Nancy Gertner after she had been selected to receive the 2008 Thurgood Marshall Award. Click here to read the interview.
Introduction
Serving the Veterans Who Have Served Us
by Daniel K. Akaka
Veterans law is complicated. The statutory and regulatory framework governing veterans benefits has matured over many years and can be confusing to the uninitiated. In 1988, the Veterans Judicial Review Act, Pub. L. No. 100-687, resulted in the creation of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which added yet another element to a complex process.
In December 2006, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation that afforded any veteran the right to hire an attorney to appeal a ruling on a claim for veterans benefits. This proposal was not without controversy. The bill passed after eleventh hour negotiations removed a roadblock to final passage and the president’s signature.
Read More...Articles
Compromised Care: The Limited Availability and Questionable Quality of Health Care for Recent Veterans
by Amy N. Fairweather
Not all veterans are entitled to VA health care and compensation and currently there are critical obstacles to care for the 1.7 million service members who have been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ensuring the Employment Rights of America’s Citizen-Soldiers
by Mathew B. Tully and Ariel E. Solomon
U.S. deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan has proven the greatest test of statutory protections afforded under USERRA. The unambiguous results have demonstrated that USERRA is incapable of adequately providing the protections necessary to guard employment rights for the large numbers of veterans returning to civilian life.
Removing the Target: Protecting Military Service Members and Veterans from Financial Predators
by Christopher L. Peterson
Service members and veterans face a variety of special challenges that can make them vulnerable to financial predation. A great majority of service members are young, junior enlisted personnel who are often from economically challenged backgrounds, making them targets for controversial lenders such as “payday” loan companies.
Child Custody and the SCRA: My Child or My Country
by Nakia C. Davis
American civilians are surprised to learn about the custody battles soldiers face on the home front. Often, soldiers falsely believe that the stay of proceeding provisions of SCRA will give them temporary, automatic protection from custody proceedings while they are on active duty.
After the Battles: The Veterans’ Battle with the VA
by Craig Kabatchnick
As currently drawn, the Veterans’ Choice of Represen-tation and Benefits Enhancement Act of 2006 allows veterans to hire attorneys only after their initial claims are denied by the VA, thus deterring attorneys from getting involved at the important fact-finding stages.
The NCCU Veterans Law Clinic: Students Learning to Help Veterans
by Craig Kabatchnick
NCCU’s Veterans Law Clinic opened in 2007 and enables law students to become skilled in the veterans claims adjudication process.
The New Suspect Class: Tragically, Our Veterans
by Gordon P. Erspamer
Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are faced with many concerns including the VA’s program for treating veterans, disputes arising out of medical care or treatment, and the adjudication system that processes claims.
PTSD: Doubly Disabling for Female Vets
by Penny Wakefield
Like their male counterparts, female service members are experiencing the kinds of incidents in and around war zones that trigger PTSD. But for servicewomen, PTSD has also been a result of sexual harassment or worse by fellow soliders.
Institutional Inequality: Denying Benefits to Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Veterans
by Emily B. Hecht
LGB veterans must satisfy all of the requirements he or she would otherwise have to meet to receive benefits, such veterans are often denied or disqualified from certain benefits as a result of their sexual orientation.
Human Rights Hero: David Addlestone
by Barton F. Stichman
After Vietnam, David Addlestone used funds he raised to lead a nationwide effort to train attorneys to represent veterans on their applications to military discharge review agencies for discharge upgrades. He has since dedicated his career to vindicating the rights of veterans.
Current Issue
Summer 2009 - The Evolution of the American Family
Last Year
Fall 2008 - Shaping the Future
Summer 2008 - Student Rights
Spring 2008 - Veterans' Rights
Winter 2008 - U.S. Foreign Aid
Editorial Board
About Human Rights Magazine
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