Details

Subject(s)

• Military discharge—United States [Browse]
• Veterans—Legal status, laws, etc—United States [Browse]

Summary note

This landmark publication-the first of its kind in 30 years-enables advocates to successfully represent veterans who unjustly received less-than-honorable or other stigmatizing discharges. Written by attorneys from the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School's Veterans Legal Clinic and Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, this book helps bring honor and life-altering benefits to veterans.

Notes

Includes index.

Source of description

Description based on print version record.

Contents

• Intro
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• About the Authors
• About the Contributors
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Introduction
• Glossary of Common Discharge Upgrade Acronyms and Terms
• Part I. Introduction to Military and Discharge Upgrade Legal Structures
• Chapter 1. Introduction to Military Structures and Military Law
• 1.0 Introduction
• 1.1 Scope
• 2.0 Overview of Branches of Service and Organizational Structures
• 2.1 Secretarial Authority for Discharge Upgrades and Records Corrections
• 2.2 Chain of Command and Unit Structure: A Primer
• 3.0 Life Cycle of a Servicemember
• 3.1 Enlisted Servicemembers
• 3.2 Warrant Officers
• 3.3 Commissioned Officers
• 4.0 Military Administrative Discharge System
• 4.1 Overview
• 4.2 Misconduct-Based Administrative Discharges
• 4.2.1 Documentation of the Underlying Misconduct
• 4.2.2 Post-Adjudication Documentation of Misconduct
• 4.3 Unsatisfactory Performance-Based Administrative Discharges
• 4.4 Other Administrative Discharges
• 4.5 The Administrative Separation Process
• 4.5.1 Notice
• 4.5.2 Acknowledgment Documentation
• 4.5.3 Administrative Separation Boards
• 5.0 Discharge in Lieu of Court-Martial
• 5.1 Officers: Resignations for the Good of the Service
• 5.2 Enlisted: Administrative Separations in Lieu of Court-Martial
• 6.0 Courts-Martial
• 6.1 Special Courts-Martial
• 6.2 General Courts-Martial
• 7.0 Discharge Characterizations
• 7.1 Administrative Discharge Characterizations
• 7.1.1 Honorable
• 7.1.2 General (Under Honorable Conditions)
• 7.1.3 Other Than Honorable (OTH)
• 7.2 Punitive Discharges
• 7.2.1 Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD)
• 7.2.2 Dishonorable Discharge/Dismissal
• 8.0 Documentation of Discharges: The Department of Defense Form 214 (DD 214)
• Chapter 2. Law of Discharge Upgrades
• 1.1 Scope.
• 2.0 Overview of Records Correction and Discharge Upgrades
• 2.1 Discharge Upgrades: The Big Picture
• 2.2 Character of Service and Discharge Status
• 2.3 Narrative Reason, Separation Code, and Reentry Code
• 2.4 Caseloads and Backlogs
• 2.5 Who Can Apply for a Discharge Review or Records Correction
• 2.6 Legal Standards
• 2.6.1 Error and Impropriety
• 2.6.2 Injustice and Inequity
• 2.6.3 Clemency
• 2.6.4 Standard of Proof
• 2.6.5 Presumption of Regularity
• 2.6.6 Department of Defense Memoranda
• 2.7 Precedent
• 2.8 Guidance on Framing Requested Relief
• 2.9 Secretarial Review
• 2.10 Article 74(b) Review
• 2.11 Issuance of a New DD 214
• 2.12 Differences among the Military Review Boards
• 3.0 Discharge Review Boards
• 3.1 Legal Standards
• 3.2 Structure and Composition
• 3.3 Powers
• 3.4 Records and Evidence
• 3.5 Records Review and Personal Appearance Hearings
• 3.6 Relief
• 3.7 Statute of Limitations
• 3.8 Reconsideration
• 3.9 Timeline and Expediting
• 3.10 Success Rates at the Discharge Review Boards
• 4.0 Boards for Correction of Military or Naval Records
• 4.1 Legal Standards
• 4.2 Structure and Composition
• 4.3 Powers
• 4.4 Records and Evidence
• 4.5 Hearings
• 4.6 Relief
• 4.7 Statute of Limitations
• 4.8 Reconsideration
• 4.9 Timeline and Expediting
• 4.10 Success Rates at the Records Correction Boards
• 5.0 Discharge Appeal Review Board
• 6.0 Federal Court Judicial Review
• 6.1 Administrative Procedure Act
• 6.1.1 Legal Standards
• 6.1.2 Jurisdiction, Statute of Limitations, Venue, and Proper Parties
• 6.1.3 Exhaustion
• 6.1.4 Relief
• 6.2 Tucker Act
• 6.2.1 Legal Standards
• 6.2.2 Jurisdiction, Statute of Limitations, Venue, and Proper Parties
• 6.2.3 Exhaustion
• 6.2.4 Relief
• 6.3 Other Federal Causes of Action
• 6.3.1 Privacy Act
• 6.3.2 Declaratory Judgment Act.
• 6.3.3 Freedom of Information Act
• 6.3.4 United States Constitution
• 7.0 Class Actions
• 7.1 Basic Principles of Class Actions
• 7.1.1 Rule 23 Requirements and Timing for Class Action Certification
• 7.1.2 Rule 23(a) Numerosity, Commonality, Typicality, and Adequacy
• 7.1.3 Rule 23(b) Types of Class Actions
• 7.2 Evolution of Veterans Discharge Upgrade Class Actions
• 8.0 Equal Access to Justice Act and Other Fee-Shifting Statutes
• 8.1 Equal Access to Justice Act
• 8.1.1 Party's Net Worth
• 8.1.2 Prevailing Party Status
• 8.1.3 Government's Position Not Substantially Justified
• 8.1.4 Application for Fees and Costs and Reasonableness Standard
• 8.1.5 Other Considerations
• 8.2 Attorneys' Fees under the Privacy Act and the Freedom of Information Act
• 9.0 The Alternative or Complementary Path of a VA Character of Discharge Determination
• 10.0 Discharge Appeal Review Board
• Appendix A: Applicable Regulations
• Appendix B: Applicable Department of Defense Memoranda
• Part II. Building a Case
• Chapter 3. Intake and Record Development
• 1.1 Scope of Chapter
• 2.0 Intake
• 2.1 Explaining the Upgrade Process and Available Remedies
• 2.2 Topics to Cover in the Initial Interview
• 2.3 Possible Sources for Statements
• 2.4 Document Requests
• 3.0 Records Collection
• 3.1 Official Military Personnel File (OMPF)
• 3.1.1 Online OMPF Access
• 3.1.2 National Guard and Reserve Records
• 3.2 Other Service Records
• 3.2.1 Unit Specific and Other Non-OMPF Documents
• 3.2.2 Criminal Investigations
• 3.2.3 Courts-Martial Transcripts
• 3.2.4 Previous Board Decisions
• 3.3 In-Service Medical Records
• 3.3.1 Inpatient Service Treatment Records (STRs)
• 3.3.2 Outpatient STRs
• 3.3.3 Medical Records Requests for Recently Discharged Veterans
• 3.3.4 In-Theater Treatment Records for OIF or OEF Servicemembers.
• 3.3.5 Records Requests for Substance Abuse Treatment or Psychiatric Records
• 3.4 Post-Service Medical Records
• 3.4.1 VHA Treatment Records Requests
• 3.4.2 Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Records
• 3.4.3 Non-VA Post-Service Medical Records
• 4.0 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act Requests
• 4.1 FOIA
• 4.2 The Privacy Act
• 5.0 Contents of the Official Military Personnel Record
• 5.1 DD 214
• 5.2 Standard Documents in the OMPF
• 5.3 Service Treatment Records
• 5.4 What to Do When Records Are Missing
• Appendix A: Service Branch Museums and Libraries
• Appendix B: Service Branch Military Investigation Records Contacts
• Appendix C: Service Branch Courts-Martial Transcripts Contacts
• Appendix D: Service Branch FOIA Offices
• Appendix E: Sample Letters, Releases, and Document Requests
• Chapter 4. Supporting Statements and Working with Experts
• 2.0 Supporting Statements
• 2.1 Personal Statement
• 2.2 Corroborating Statements
• 2.2.1 Tips for Fellow Veteran or Current Servicemember Statements
• 2.2.2 Tips for Chain of Command/Supervisor Statements
• 2.2.3 Tips for Former Attorney/JAG Statements
• 2.2.4 Tips for Family Statements
• 3.0 Medical Evidence-Working with Experts
• 3.1 Obtaining Health Care and a Mental Health Diagnosis
• 3.2 Medical Statements
• 3.2.1 Finding a Medical Expert
• 3.2.2 Tips for Expert Medical Statements
• 3.3 Working with Congressional Offices
• Appendix A: Information in a Typical Psychological Report
• Appendix B: List of Potential Questions for Experts to Address by Case Type
• Chapter 5. Writing a Persuasive Brief
• 2.0 Where to Apply
• 3.0 Structuring the Brief for the DoD Administrative Boards
• 3.1 Separating Contentions
• 3.2 Clearly State All the Remedies Sought.
• 3.3 Tying Each Contention to All Remedies Sought
• 3.4 Making the Record
• 4.0 Applicable Legal Standards
• 4.1 Presumption of Regularity
• 4.2 Value of Precedent in BCMR Cases
• 4.3 Value of Precedent in DRB Cases
• 4.4 Overview of Standards of Review
• 4.4.1 Propriety
• 4.4.2 Equity
• 5.0 Crafting Contentions
• 5.1 Sample Propriety Contention Template
• 5.1.1 Impropriety Template: Based on an Error Prejudicial to the Discharge
• 5.2 Sample Equity Contention Template
• 5.2.1 Equity Template Based on a Future Policy Change
• Appendix A: Sample Contentions by Case Type
• Appendix B: Sample AFDRB Decisional Template
• Chapter 6. Identifying Contentions
• 2.0 Identifying Contentions
• 2.1 First Steps for Identifying Contentions: Military Regulations
• 2.2 Identifying Relevant Regulations
• 2.3 General Checklist for Identifying Both Improprieties and Inequities
• 2.4 Service-Wide Standards for Character of Service
• 2.5 Limits on Characterization
• 3.0 Contentions Based on DoDI 1332.14 Enclosure 3: Reasons for Separation
• 3.1 Expiration End of Service or End Term of Service Reasons for Separation
• 3.1.1 Examples of Recent Board Case Based on EOS/ETS Contentions
• 3.2 Convenience of the Government
• 3.2.1 Dependency or Hardship
• 3.2.2 Pregnancy or Childbirth
• 3.2.3 Parenthood
• 3.2.4 Conscientious Objection
• 3.3 Defective Enlistments and Inductions
• 3.3.1 Defective Enlistment Agreements
• 3.3.2 Fraudulent Entry
• 3.4 Unsatisfactory Performance
• 3.5 Weight Control Failure
• 3.6 Misconduct
• 3.6.1 Minor Disciplinary Infractions
• 3.6.2 A Pattern of Misconduct
• 3.6.3 Commission of a Serious Offense
• 3.6.4 Civilian Conviction
• 3.6.5 Assessing Misconduct-Based Discharges for Errors
• 3.6.6 Common Errors Misconduct-Based Discharges
• 3.7 Separation in Lieu of Trial by Court-Martial.
• 3.7.1 Common Errors in Separation in Lieu of Courts-Martial Cases.

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ISBN

1-64105-892-7

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