Attorney General Miyares leads bipartisan coalition asking SCOTUS to protect veterans’ rights

On April 14, 2023, Attorney General Jason Miyares led a bipartisan coalition of the attorneys general of 33 states and the District of Columbia in asking the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to hear the case of James Rudisill in Rudisill v. McDonough and protect veterans’ rights.

James Rudisill is a Virginia resident and a decorated army veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After his first tour, Mr. Rudisill used his Montgomery GI Bill benefits to further his education, successfully complete his undergraduate degree, and return to the U.S. Army as a commissioned officer. Mr. Rudisill served his country bravely and received one of the military’s highest accolades – the Bronze Star – for his service. Following his third tour, Mr. Rudisill was accepted into the Yale Divinity School with the goal of returning to the armed forces yet again, this time as a chaplain.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) denied Mr. Rudisill his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits, despite the fact that veterans with multiple requisite periods of service, like Mr. Rudisill, can earn up to 48 months of educational benefits. This unexplainable decision by the VA was overturned by multiple courts, but the en banc U.S. Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit ultimately upheld the VA’s decision, robbing thousands of veterans of the GI benefits they earned while serving their country in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Veterans like James Rudisill represent the very best of America and of Virginia. But rather than support his desire to find new ways to lay his life on the line and serve his country, the Federal Circuit took away both James Rudisill and thousands of other post 9/11 veterans’ GI education benefits,” said Attorney General Miyares. “Over 700,000 veterans live in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This decision actively hurts veterans’ reentry into civilian life and deprives them of earned benefits.”

Attorney General Jason Miyares’ brief was joined by the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.

Read the brief here.