Printer Friendly Page
---------------
“VICTORY FOR VETERANS” AS COURT BRINGS BACK
JUDGES
Pending veterans' appeals backlog will be
reduced
September 6, 2006
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093
(Washington, DC) Chief Judge William Greene, Jr., of the U.S. Court of
Appeals for Veterans Claims, has called up two retired federal judges to
help the court deal with an unprecedented number of pending appeals. The
decision has earned the praise of the chairman of the U.S. Senate
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
"I’m hopeful this will help cut down on the record number of cases
before the court and help the court keep up with the record level of
incoming cases," said Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho). "I commend Judge
Greene for his leadership in making this call. His decision is a victory
for veterans who would otherwise wait too long for a decision to be
reached. Veterans shouldn’t have to wait and wait and wait to receive a
final determination."
Just two years ago there were about 2,700 cases pending and the court
was taking in less than 200 new cases per month. But the court is now
taking in over 300 new cases per month and the number of pending cases
has grown to over 5,800. The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
is in the judicial branch of government and reviews decisions rendered
by VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals, which is in the executive branch of
the federal government. Most of the court’s decisions deal with
disability compensation.
"At a hearing this July, I cautioned that if trends continue without
action, such as bringing in more judges, the number of pending cases
could reach 10,000 in the next five years. Hopefully, by bringing in the
retired judges, they can cut the backlog down and give all veterans a
timely decision. That’s what veterans deserve," Craig said.
Other federal courts regularly recall judges, including the U.S. Tax
Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, but this is the
first time the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has taken such
action since it was created in 1988.
In July of this year the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs conducted
a hearing on the backlog issue, and Craig and other senators pushed the
court to recall its retired judges. Under current federal guidelines,
the retired judges receive the same pay as active judges – currently
$165,200 a year – and can be called back to work if needed.
The judges being called in are John J. Farley, III, and Donald Ivers.
They will serve a minimum of 90 days reviewing cases and rendering
decisions. In addition to the two judges who have been called back into
action, there are presently seven full time judges on the court.
"At the end of the 90 days, if the number of pending cases hasn’t been
reduced significantly, I hope the Chief Judge will recall other retired
judges to help keep the backlog down to size," Craig said.
---------------
Larry Scott
