CAVC– BIRTH OF A WRIT ACT II SCENE 2-THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

This morning I discovered the CAVC finally outfitted me with a docket number. This will make it easier to observe in real time for all of you just itching to learn the ins and outs of Filing an Extraordinary Writ. Issuance of a docket number is the first order of business in a filing. It seats you at the table of justice with a number that reflects the order in which it was received.

Well, sort of. Were my claim before the BVA, Laura Eskinazi might choose to “rocket docket” it and decide it tomorrow. Conversely, she could did a deep hole and secret it there in hopes that I’d die before they had to act on it. Strangely, these problems of losing or misplacing important documents never seem to infect the Court.

The docket is # 15-112. Here’s how you access this for your reading entertainment. First, go to the CAVC’s web site here: http://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/

Then click on the “Docket Search” in the lower left corner of the Home page:

The ECF site pops us and requests either a case number , a name of the appellant or a range of case docket numbers within which the docket might be found. I have inserted my case in the image below.

Click on Search and the next screen pops up showing the history of the claim. Since mine was “born” this morning, the information is scarce. I drew an anti-Vet judge (Davis) who is not exactly the Veteran’s best friend but my hope is that the evidence I have provided is more than adequate to assure a victory in spite of his anti-Veteran proclivities.

Click on the case number above my name (15-112) and the history to-be-written in the next few months will appear chronologically.

Judge “Hang ’em High” Davis had my 2010 Extraordinary Writ. I was in the Seattle VAMC and got short-sheeted by him while I was paddling the Dilaudid canoe around 2 East. When I finally egressed the VAMC, I wrote in to tell them I was back in the saddle. Too late. No excuse for equitable tolling would suffice and the $50 was wasted. This time it’s belts and suspenders on everything and LawBob Squarepants standing in the wings waiting for the hand off in case I crump.

As I have mentioned, a Writ properly constructed is akin to a fire cracker with an extremely short fuse. This one will be done in less than 125 days with 100% accuracy assuming Old McDonald hasn’t lost or misplaced the c-file. While I speak of Bob as being the miscreant in this, the fact is that the VBA is the culprit. He merely shares the blame because his troops are the ones that fumbled this claim for the last twenty one years.

As the docket info piles up, the ECF page will eventually have to abbreviate some of the legal manoeuvres. To view it in its entirety as it develops, you can click on the “Full Docket” at the top and a new window opens showing the complete history.

This is the full docket menu that pops up:

Clicking on “Run Docket Report” will open the last window to show the entire history. You will notice the little boxes in blue with a padlock in them. These represent documents that are redacted to prevent release of SSI or other things like my telephone number, DOB etc. The first one entitled Petition for Extraordinary relief is attached to my post here.

There you have it. Stay tuned to the same Bat time and Bat channel for all the excitement and the post hoc rationalizations that are going to soon grace the docket. I expect there will be some interesting excuses for why the overworked and over-bonused folks at the VBA, the BVA and Fort Fumble in Seattle were unable to get ‘er done for so long. Don’t be surprised if they blame George Bush (43) and global warming for the delay. Hell, maybe the VA rater was abducted by aliens and was just released yesterday. Stranger things have happened at the VBA and they all agree that anything is possible.