Most excellent news from the CAVC

President Obama recently announced the nomination of Meg Bartley and Gloria Shelton for two of the three vacant seats at the CAVC. These positions have been vacant for over a year and it was high time he got around to doing this. The backlog has created quite a delay at the Court. Congress authorized an increase in the number of judges from 7 to 9 some time ago but Hizzoner has been a laggard in his duty to Vets. This is a partial down payment for his recalcitrance. Hopefully he will fill the third position shortly. Now it behooves the Senate to finish the task and confirm them. We pray this does not become a political football to be squabbled over. Vets deserve better than to be held hostage to political vendettas and paybacks for perceived slights.

Meg Bartley comes from the NVLSP. a Veteran’s rights consortium which provides pro bono support for indigent or underrepresented Vets. She clerked for a former CAVC Judge (Steinberg) and has argued Veteran’s cases before the Court. She should be a fair and rational addition to the bench.

Gloria Shelton, on the other hand, is of a different ilk. She comes to us from the BVA where she is a Staff Attorney. If she brings the demented logic of the BVA we have seen recently, then we are in for trouble. We always cringe when the nominee is chosen from what we could best politely describe as “the opposition” as in those hired to defeat our claims. Placing her in the capacity to adjudicate Veteran’s claims may have an adverse, chilling effect on Veteran’s justice at the Court. Keep in mind this is a lifetime appointment like the Supreme Court so we are stuck with her once she is confirmed. I would be of the mind to have as many Vets as humanly possible write their Senators and advocate for Ms. Bartley and against the confirmation of Ms. Shelton. We deserve justice from impartial individuals. I submit that Ms. Shelton may have an agenda that is at odds with ours. In other words, her pedigree is suspect.