Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Military, War, and Peace
“Not Reasonably Debatable”: The Problems With Single-Judge Decisions By The Court Of Appeals For Veterans Claims, James Ridgway
“Not Reasonably Debatable”: The Problems With Single-Judge Decisions By The Court Of Appeals For Veterans Claims, James Ridgway
James D. Ridgway
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) has statutory authority—unique among the federal appellate courts—to allow individual judges to decide appeals. As the CAVC completes the first quarter century of operations since its creation, this article examines the court’s use of this authority. Based upon two years of data developed and analyzed by the authors, this article concludes that outcome variance in single-judge decisions is a serious problem at the CAVC. Not only is there a substantial difference in the outcomes of appeals assigned to the different judges, but there are clear examples of decisions that violate the …