Connecticut Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP)

The lawyers of Connecticut help with Legal Assistance to Military Personnel through a couple of programs.

The Connecticut Bar Association Veteran and Military Affairs Committee (VMAC)

"... serves as an advisor to the Connecticut Bar Association and offers assistance to active duty and reserve component personnel residing in Connecticut, to Connecticut residents stationed outside the state, and to military legal assistance staffs which serve them. Either directly or through referral to others, the committee seeks to identify and assist in the resolution of legal problems for military personnel and veterans." More Information

The Committee works with the State of Connecticut Dept Veterans Affairs on an annual Stand Down, the state’s outreach and support program for homeless veterans in Rocky Hill. See 2008 Stand Down

Active duty service members may wish to go first to Armed Forces Legal Assistance's nice online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". A query for the state of Connecticut is here

Servicemembers, veterans and their families, just as any other citizen, may find useful help at the Legal Services Network in Connecticut.

The Findlaw website has a city-by-city list of lawyers interested in representing active-duty military personnel, military reservists, and veterans here.

Anyone with more information on these or other programs, please add in a comment below. The purpose is service!

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See also

• ABA Military Pro Bono Project
• State-by-state list of LAMP programs

The Veterans Business Outreach Center: Is There One In Your State?

Veterans who are lawyers seeking to open a practice, or who are non-lawyers seeking to open a business, may be interested in a program such as The Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC).
While VBOC is based in California, there may be a comparable organization in your state; and if there isn't, organizing one may be a good way to get started in business and demonstrate to investors your ability to get'r'done!

From http://www.vboc-ca.org

"The Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) is a non-profit organization 501c(3), partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and is a division of Vietnam Veterans of California, Inc. (VVC) Serving veterans since 1980.

VBOC mission is to advance the growth and commercial competitiveness of veteran owned small business enterprises through education and services focusing on business development, technology deployment and e-commerce.

Honoring California's Returning Veterans Summit

Date: April 16, 2009 Time: 8am-4pm

The summit is a unique opportunity for California veterans, their families and care providers to critically examine existing networks of care for veterans. At the summit, training will be offered on Post Traumatic Stress, transition for combat to community, housing, employment issues and resources for newly separated veterans. The conference will examine mental health issues and their profound impacts on housing, employment, economic stability and social welfare of our state’s military personnel and veterans.

Attendees may register at no cost, Pre-Registration is mandatory"

For Agenda, Registration etc click here.

Alabama Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP)

The lawyers of Alabama help with Legal Assistance to Military Personnel through a couple of programs.

Active duty personnel and their families with income below 125% of the federal poverty level can qualify for free one-on-one pro bono assistance with civil legal problems, through the Alabama State Bar Committee on Volunteer Lawyers Programs. Please see
http://www.alabar.org/members/vlp.cfm for contact information and more!

The Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service encourages Attorneys to offer a 25% discount for legal representation for members of the Alabama National Guard (Air/Army), Alabama State Defense Force and their spouses. Please see the Referral Service here: http://www.alabar.org/lrs/index.cfm

Local bar associations are also pitching in. According to an Alabama State Bar Press Release:

"The Marshall County Bar Association under the leadership of President Tom Woodall. Since 2004, this bar has served the citizens of the 27th Judicial Circuit, and surrounding areas, by providing pro bono legal assistance to deployed military servicemen and servicewomen and the families of National Guard and Reservists. Guard units from Arab, Albertville, Guntersville, and other places have been deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The program has expanded to soldiers, sailors, marines and air force personnel deployed world-wide whose families need legal assistance."

(If you have contact information and/or a weblink to that program, please contact me or put it into a comment below. Thanks!)

The Mobile Bar Association also has a Volunteer Lawyer Program here:http://nuke2.olis.com/Default.aspx?tabid=112

Active duty service members may wish to go first to Armed Forces Legal Assistance's nice online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". A query for the state of Alabama is here

Servicemembers, veterans and their families, just as any other citizen, may find useful information at AlabamaLegalHelp: http://www.alabamalegalservices.org/AL/index.cfm

The Findlaw website has a city-by-city list of lawyers interested in representing active-duty military personnel, military reservists, and veterans here.

Anyone with more information on these or other programs, please add in a comment below. The purpose is service!

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See also

• ABA Military Pro Bono Project
• State-by-state list of LAMP programs

March 19 CLE/CPE for Attorneys/Paralegals: Military Legal Assistance Issues

From the ABA Website:

ABA LAMP CLE and CPE - Thursday 19 March 2009
Fort Carson, Colorado

"Sponsored by:
The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel
After 13 March, please call Jami Krause at 312-988-5786 to determine space availability.

WHAT:
An educational program for lawyers on current developments and best practices in legal assistance law, including the SCRA, Family Law Practice and Procedure, Consumer Law, Medical Evaluation Boards, and Paralegal Professionalism.
Click here to view the program schedule.

WHO:
This program is designed for military as well as civilian lawyers and paralegals concentrating in military legal assistance. Attendees from all installations in greater Colorado and elsewhere are welcome.

WHERE:
Fort Carson - Colorado

WHEN:
19 March 2009. The one-day CLE and CPE program will commence with registration and continental breakfast at 0730 hours.

HOW:
Limited Capacity. Please register online by 13 March. After 13 March, please call Jami Krause at 312-988-5786 to determine space availability.

Participants are encouraged to download free CLE program materials, beginning March 1, from the CLE Materials Clearinghouse on the ABA LAMP Committee web page www.abalegalservices.org/lamp/clematerials.html. A limited number of sets of printed materials will be available at the program site at a charge of $10. That fee should be pre-paid by credit card or personal check during advance registration."

See http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/lamp/cle.html

South Carolina Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP)

The South Carolina Bar has a Legal Assistance for Military Personnel Program whose webpage reads (in part):

"South Carolina attorneys have volunteered to provide free or reduced fee legal services to active military personnel in the following practice areas:

• Consumer Law
• Criminal Law
• Family Law
• Personal Injury Law
• Probate Law
• Real Estate Law

To request assistance through the LAMP Program please submit the following:

• Name
• A brief summary of the issue with which you need assistance (including the South Carolina county)
• Your contact information

Please note that this program serves active military personnel and in some circumstances their immediate family members. If you are not active duty military, please review our pro bono and Find a Lawyer resources. Your request will be reviewed, and you will be matched with an appropriate program volunteer. You may submit your request via e-mail to lamp@scbar.org or contact [a phone number at this link]"

More Info

In addition, the South Carolina State Bar has a number of other resource available to the general public, which may be useful to servicemembers, veterans and their families. These include:

• Its Lawyer Referral Service may help you find a lawyer
• Its web page of useful Self-Help Resources has detailed directions for pro se divorce -- a simple divorce you do yourself
• Ask-a-Lawyer - an innovative, televised phone-bank! For air times and call-in numbers, see http://www.scbar.org/public_services/ask-a-lawyer/
• A volunteer Pro Bono Program for people with very low incomes.

Active duty service members may wish to go first to Armed Forces Legal Assistance's nice online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". A query for the state of South Carolina is here

Findlaw has a city-by-city list of lawyers interested in representing active-duty military personnel, military reservists, and former military personnel with “veteran” status here.

For Attorneys

In addition to the above, the South Carolina State Bar has a Military Law Section which

"... maintains an interest in the fields of law controlling or affecting the military community and seeks to improve communication between the military and civilian communities. The Section hosts periodic meetings and social events to communicate and improve relations with active component military lawyers and annually contributes to the JAG CLE On-Site Program. Other projects include: cosponsoring a CLE seminar with the Attorney General's office and Shaw Air Force Base; continuing to provide speakers to ROTC college classes; and publication of a newsletter.

Attorneys who are not members of the SC Bar but may have an interest (e.g. reservists or others stationed in SC) may become a section "Affiliate"; learn more about the benefits of being an Affiliate in its "Pen and Sword" newsletter.

For section contact information and much more, see the Section Web Page.

You can find more information about doing pro bono in general at South Carolina Access to Justice and the SC Access to Justice Weblog.

If you have more information on the above, or on other efforts to provide legal help to our warrior community, please leave a comment below. The purpose is service!

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See also

• ABA Military Pro Bono Project
• State-by-state list of LAMP programs

Specialist Amy Brian and the Harm of DADT

The matter of Amy Brian, formerly of the Kansas National Guard, raises serious questions about the impact of Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) on retention of qualified personnel, as well as basic human fairness and American Fair Play.

As reported in the Kansas City Star

"She joined the Guard in 1991 as a high school senior and served until 1994, when she married. She had a son and eventually divorced. She re-enlisted in 2003. The following year, just as she was preparing for a deployment in Iraq, she told her parents she was gay.

“I just found myself,” Brian said. “My mom and dad were supportive. They knew their grandson was being taken care of and that the woman I was with was good for me. They just didn’t want me to flaunt it.”

She then drove in a convoy from Kuwait to Camp Anaconda in Balad, Iraq.

Brian soon became accustomed to daily mortar fire that might last from 20 minutes to a few hours. The soldiers jokingly referred to the base as “Mortaritaville” during the bombardments.

Brian worked 12-hour shifts on a vehicle maintenance crew. Later, she was assigned to narrate award ceremonies, write evaluations and perform office work. She did not see combat, but she did see Iraqi children in the camp hospital being treated for injuries that included missing limbs from roadside bombs.

In October 2005, Brian left Iraq and returned to her full-time job at the U.S. Property and Fiscal Office, which is part of the Kansas Guard’s Topeka headquarters.

She worked as a secretary and then moved up to purchasing and contracting. She completed college and enrolled in Friends University to earn a master’s degree in business administration.

Then in August 2008, a lieutenant told her she was being investigated for homosexual conduct. A civilian co-worker claimed to have seen Brian kissing a woman at a Wal-Mart.

Someone else began sending anonymous e-mails to as many as 12 officers in Brian’s chain of command, saying Brian was gay. The e-mails gave the address of a Web site — not her MySpace page — showing her photograph and revealing her sexual orientation.

The accusations led the Guard to begin an investigation. Brian chose not to request a hearing before a board of three officers. To do so risked a dishonorable discharge if they found her guilty.

Instead, she resigned from the property office in September. She continued her military affiliation until Jan. 13, when she received a general discharge under honorable conditions.

“Each (accusation) alone may not have been enough,” said Brian’s appointed counsel, Maj. Jared Maag, senior defense counsel for Trial Defense Services for the Kansas National Guard. “But combine them, the command obviously thought they had enough to go forward.”

Maag said he has requested a low re-entry code for Brian, which would make it easier for her to re-enlist should the policy change.

But Brian said she doesn’t know if she would re-enlist. Losing her $22-an-hour job was bad enough, but she also lost her education benefits, which prevented her from completing her master’s degree."

The full article by Malcom Garcia is here.

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Let us summarize:

• The soldier served honorably and well in a combat zone
• The specialist's sexual orientation did not affect her service or that of her unit
• She didn't out herself; a nosy person decided to complain about something that had nothing to do with them, one or more cowards launched an anonymous email campaign, and command (in a time of war) declined to use its prerogative of Nelson's blind eye
• The soldier lost a job and educational benefits
• Our nation lost a soldier.

Was this really wise?

Was this really American?

South Dakota Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP),

Servicemembers, veterans and families in South Dakota can use a variety of legal help resources available to the general public.


The State Bar of South Dakota describes its useful South Dakota Lawyer Referral Service:

"You can review the Lawyer Referral list online or may call 1-800-952-2333 toll free for lawyer referral services.

This directory is published by the South Dakota Lawyer Referral Service, which is a public service of The State Bar of South Dakota. It is designed to help you locate a private attorney. If you would like assistance in using the directory, call the South Dakota Lawyer Referral Service toll-free ..."

For the toll-free number, please see:
http://www.sdbar.org/lawyereferral/lawyereferral.shtm

South Dakota Department of Military and Veterans Affairs maintains a useful
Resource Center ( Motto: Wellness is Readiness) featuring a toll-free number and more information on its webpage.

Then there is the Dakota Plains Legal Services

"Dakota Plains Legal Services is a private, non-profit organization funded by Congress through the National Legal Services Corporation to provide free legal assistance to eligible persons, Native American and non-Native American, residing in our service area."
http://www.dpls.org/

DPLS has Branch offices

• Mission
• Fort Thompson
• Fort Yates
• Eagle Butte
• Pine Ridge
• Sisseton
• Rapid City

Branch office Contact Information

Active duty service members may wish to go first to Armed Forces Legal Assistance's nice online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". A query for the state of South Dakota is here

The Findlaw website has a city-by-city list of lawyers interested in representing active-duty military personnel, military reservists, and veterans here.If you have more information on the above, or on other efforts to provide legal help to our warrior community, please leave a comment below. The purpose is service!

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See also

• ABA Military Pro Bono Project
• State-by-state list of LAMP programs

PTSD and Rulemaking, per Veterans for Common Sense

Here's a letter from the group Veterans for Common Sense suggesting how existing law could improve the PTSD situation, without additional legislative action (except, most likely, appropriations of money:

"On January 26, VCS sent a letter to our new VA Secretary, Erik Shinseki, urging him to use his rule-making authority to promulgate a regulation establishing a presumption of service connection for deployed veterans diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) based on the recent Institute of Medicine report linking PTSD with deployment to a war zone. http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/12186

VA reports more than 105,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are already diagnosed with PTSD. http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/12148. Many of the bureaucratic hurdles veterans face for treatment and benefits start in the military. That's why VCS developed four priority items for the military to improve how the military handles PTSD during 2009:

1. VCS urges DoD to implement the 1997 Force Health Protection law, PL 105-85, Section 761-771, that requires the military to provide pre- and post-deployment medical exams to all service members. The Government Accounting Office and the Institute of Medicine found the current system of asking soldiers to self-report mental illness was woefully inadequate. We believe mandatory exams by physicians will reduce stigma against PTSD by normalizing the exam process. When a civilian police officer is involved in a shooting, he or she receives a mandatory exam before returning to duty. This same standard of required exams should apply to all our troops when they return home from combat.

2. VCS urges DoD to implement a strong anti-stigma program as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for 2009. We believe that attitudes toward veterans with PTSD will change with education about the causes, symptoms, and treatments. Education should describe the devastating consequences of untreated PTSD like broken families, unemployment, crime, drug and alcohol abuse, homelessness, and suicide. We believe that reducing stigma will encourage more veterans to seek treatment and provide a smoother readjustment for our veterans into colleges, jobs, and communities without fear of discrimination.

3. VCS urges DoD to hire additional mental health professionals to meet the increasing demand for examinations and treatment. In February 2007, the American Psychological Association reported a 40 percent vacancy rate for mental health professionals within the Department of Defense. If DoD plans to perform the mandatory exams in a timely manner, then the military must have a sufficient supply of mental health practitioners to meet the ever-increasing demand. More than 717,000 troops have deployed two or more times to the war zones, and these veterans are now at greater risk for developing PTSD than those who deploy only once. Identification and early treatment for PTSD will save taxpayers' money and help stem the growing suicide epidemic.

4. VCS urges VA to work more closely with DoD implementing the Force Health Protection law so VA has sufficient records to provide medical care and process disability claims. We believe that many of the problems VA faces when dealing with PTSD arise due to inadequate military policies that flow unchecked downstream toward VA. We are concerned that there are 105,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans diagnosed by VA with PTSD, yet only 42,000 veterans receive VA disability compensation for PTSD - an unacceptable 40 percent approval rate that may be caused by a lack of military medical records. VCS also urges VA to grant automatic disability benefits to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans diagnosed with PTSD by VA.

We know these are ambitious goals, but we here at VCS believe they are necessary to reduce the rising tide of PTSD-related violence and suicides among our veterans. Your contribution to VCS will help make this ambitious agenda for 2009 attainable.

Thank you,

Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans for Common Sense"

District of Columbia Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP)

The District of Columbia is physically small enough that a many legal services for matters essentially federal in nature may be better addressed by resources in the neighboring states. None-the-less, there are some useful resources specific to the District of Columbia.

For Servicemembers, Veterans and Families

For the public, the District of Columbia Bar Association maintains some useful Programs and Services such as a Free Child Custody Clinic, a Divorce Clinic, a Landlord Tenant Resource Center and more: See the List here.

For active services members, a recent positive development was recently announced:

2/4/2009 - BOLLING AFB, D.C. -- The Air Force and Army recently opened the Pentagon Army and Air Force Legal Assistance Office. An official ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Feb. 25 at 2 p.m.

"It's a shared office with people working toward a common vision of providing superior customer service to Soldiers and Airmen," said Lt. Col. Dawn M. Zoldi, 11th Wing Staff Judge Advocate.

PAAFLAO, located in room 5B1058A, is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Legal assistance will be provided on an appointment basis to eligible Army and Air Force clients only.

"This convenient location provides 'in the building" support and saves clients the trip to Bolling," said Colonel Zoldi. "And it's only two doors down from the new military personnel flight."

Eligible clients include active-duty servicemembers and their dependents, retirees and their dependents, and certain National Guard and Reserve members. Powers of attorney and notary services will be provided on a walk-in basis. The PAAFLAO also offers limited tax services this year.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (703) 571-3114. Directions to the office from the Pentagon Metro Station are available upon request."

Active duty service members may also wish to check the Armed Forces Legal Assistance's nice online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". A query for the District of Columbia is here

DC is home to a high concentration of law schools, many of which host community legal clinics, such as The district is also home to a large number of legal clinics hosted by law schools such as Georgetown Legal Clinics, David A. Clarke School of Law's Housing Clinic, the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law's Columbus Community Legal Services, George Washington University's Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics. These are all volunteer programs that may vary greatly in availability due to the academic calendar and the huge volume of unmet legal needs, but they may be worth checking out and are definitely worth supporting.

Findlaw has a list of DC lawyers interested in representing active-duty military personnel, military reservists, and former military personnel with “veteran” status here.

For Attorneys

The Bar Association of the District of Columbia has a Military Law Committee, about which I've not learned much; see contact information here (scroll down the page a bit). Otherwise, neither BADC, District of Columbia Bar Association, nor the Washington Bar Association (this DC organization is to be distinguished from the Washington State Bar Association) does not seem to have a Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP) Section. However, there is little doubt that DCBA's Pro Bono programs would be happy to hear from you; attorneys looking to provide pro bono help should see DCBA's Directory of Legal Service Providers. Entrepreneurs will swiftly note that there is, at this writing, nothing on that page listed under the subject matter "veterans"; this is an opportunity for a active attorney to get something started! And surely, in these times, wouldn't you want your firm to have an honorable place on its Pro Bono Partnership (PART) webpage?

If you have more information on the above, or on other efforts to provide legal help to our warrior community, please leave a comment below. The purpose is service!

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See also

• ABA Military Pro Bono Project
• State-by-state list of LAMP programs

Tennessee Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP)

The Tennessee legal community provies legal assistance to military personnel in a variety of ways. Active duty service members may wish to go first to Armed Forces Legal Assistance's nice online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". A query for the state of Tennessee is here.

While Tennessee Bar Association does not seem to have a Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP) Section at present, its However, its Young Lawyer Division (YLD) participates in the ABA’s "Operation Enduring LAMP" program through runs Operation Volunteer, in which service members and their families seeking pro bono legal assistance contact the Tennessee Bar Association (221 4th Avenue N #400 Nashville, TN 37219 615/383-7421) and are referred to the YLD Disaster Relief Committee. Operation Volunteer has identified attorneys who are willing to reservists and National Guard personnel and their families in the areas of real estate, business & commercial law, landlord/tenant, domestic relations, non-taxable wills, estates and estate planning, employment, SSCRA, banking, and disability law.

Tennessee attorneys also participate in Lawyers Serving Warriors, a nationwide program providing free legal services to U.S. military personnel and veterans who have served in OIF or OEF in the following situations:

• Referred to the physical disability evaluation system.
• Facing an involuntary administrative separation.
• Received an inappropriate discharge, discharge characterization, or disability rating.
• Pursuing a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for disability compensation.
• Claim under the Traumatic Injury Insurance Under the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (TSGLI).

According to this press release, the Boult Cummings law firm in Nashville hosts the "Lawyers Serving Warriors: Launch Project"; training was recently offered at the offices of Vowell & Jennings Court Reporters. If you're seeking participation (either as a lawyer or as a clint) see the online form.

Tennessee servicemembers and veterans (along with everyone else) may use the state's new OnlineTNJustice website to access volunteer lawyers online! Some restrictions apply - see OnlineTNJustice for details.

Survey for Female Veterans

Female veterans may be interested in the following message:

Attn: Military Women in Combat Past and Present, Exploration of Traumatic Events

"Hi! I am Diane Delauter, a Masters in Social Work student at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. I am conducting a brief - 10 - 15 minute research study for military women - either active duty or veterans. I am exploring potential traumatic experiences of military women who have deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and/or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or earlier conflicts. Much research has been conducted on the male experience of war and combat. This study will focus on the female perspective and experiences in hopes of further validating women's roles and sacrifices in the Armed Services.

Survey Link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=OS90GMympNl_2b9LEstcsPww_3d_3d
Your participation would be completely anonymous, greatly appreciated, and may help health and wellness professionals better serve the women like you who have done so much for their country.

Thank you for your time and your service!"

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There is a lot more information, especially concerning anonymity and confidentiality, at the survey page. If you qualify for the survey, please check it out!

Vets can benefit from a little-known sentencing law

Herbert A. Sample writes in California Lawyer:

Vets can benefit from a little-known sentencing law

"Sean Nesmith could have found himself in jail for as long as five years after he robbed an Ocean Beach bank in 2006 using nothing more than a note demanding money.

Instead, a judge sent the 23-year-old ex-Marine to treatment for a severe case of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The order resulted from a little-noticed state law, penal code section 1170.9. It lets judges, under certain circumstances, sentence combat veterans suffering from PTSD to psychiatric help instead of jail time for their crimes.

As service members return from duty in the Middle East, many expect the law to be used more frequently in the future. "We're seeing the sprinklings of a big storm ahead," says James E. Faulder, a deputy public defender in San Diego. "And we're trying to brace for it and get our avenues set up [to defend veterans]. And 1170.9 is going to be one of them."

In addition to combat vets with PTSD, the law applies to those suffering from substance abuse or unspecified psychological ailments. If service people afflicted with those conditions have been convicted of a criminal offense that generally would lead to a stint in county jail or state prison--and they are eligible for probation--judges have the option of sending them to a treatment facility instead of prison. Outpatient programs also are a possibility.

It is unclear how often the law has been used since it took effect in January 2007. Spokespeople for the San Francisco and Los Angeles county public defenders offices say few attorneys appear to know about the statute.

Even in San Diego County, home to a large military contingent, the law had been used only twice as of June, according to deputy PD Faulder, who handled both cases. Still, Faulder heralds the statute as a vast improvement over a 1980s-era law that made treatment instead of prison available only to convicted Vietnam War vets, and which proved unworkable. The new law covers all combat veterans, including those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Some of them may well come to need it. Nearly 40,000 of those soldiers have been diagnosed with PTSD since 2003, the Army reported in May, noting that many more with the condition have not sought help.

Part of the reason is, "[W]e keep sending the same people back for third, fourth, and fifth tours," says Pete Conaty, a Vietnam vet and Sacramento lobbyist who pushed for the 2006 legislation. "If we can keep people who served their country and who need some psychological care out of jail, I think it serves all of us."

Still, some people need convincing that sending a vet to treatment--rather than jail--is not being soft on crime. Making the judge and the DA comfortable with that notion "is part of our task," says Faulder."

Read the article here:
http://www.callawyer.com/

H.R. 23 - Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2009

A bill to assist the Merchant Mariners of World War II has been re-introduced in the House.
Called the "Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2009", its purpose is

"To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund to provide benefits to certain individuals who served in the United States merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) during World War II."

From the House Veterans Affairs Committee:

Filner Reintroduces Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act

Chairmutive comment. No further action was taken on the he bill before the 108th Congress adjourned last year, so Filner reintroduced it as H.R. 23 before the new Congress which convened last month.

As reported earlier in the Seafarers LOG, H.R. 3729 among other things called for compensation of $1,000 per month for people in any service in harm’s way—including the U.S. Merchant Marine—during the period from Dec. 5, 1941 through Dec. 31, 1946, the same period as all other GI Bills. The bill also stipulated that any surviving wife of a qualified veteran also shall be eligible to receive the same benefit as the veteran.

In official remarks to fellow members of Congress in 2004, Filner noted, World War II Merchant Mariners suffered the second-highest casualty rate of any of the branches of services while they delivered troops, tanks, food, airplanes, fuel and other needed supplies to every theater of the war. Compared to the large number of men and women serving in World War II, the numbers of merchant mariners were small, but their chance of dying during service was extremely high. Enemy forces sank over 800 ships between 1941 and 1944 alone.

Filner further pointed out mariners weren�rred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

A fuller explanation of the need for this bill is provided by the Seafarers International Union:

"‘Belated Thank You’ legislation reintroduced by U.S. Rep. Filner (1/13)

U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) earlier this month introduced a bill before the 109th Congress to amend title 46, United States Code, and title II of the Social Security Act.

The bill, H.R. 23, would provide benefits to certain individuals who served in the United States Merchant Marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) during World War II.

Filner last year (Jan. 27, 2004) introduced the same legislation before the 108th Congress. That bill, numbered H.R. 3729 and titled the “Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2004,” had more than 150 cosponsors. The last major action taken on it came July 27 when the Veterans’ Affairs Committee asked for executive comment. No further action was taken on the bill before the 108th Congress adjourned last year, so Filner reintroduced it as H.R. 23 before the new Congress which convened last month.

As reported earlier in the Seafarers LOG, H.R. 3729 among other things called for compensation of $1,000 per month for people in any service in harm’s way—including the U.S. Merchant Marine—during the period from Dec. 5, 1941 through Dec. 31, 1946, the same period as all other GI Bills. The bill also stipulated that any surviving wife of a qualified veteran also shall be eligible to receive the same benefit as the veteran.

In official remarks to fellow members of Congress in 2004, Filner noted, World War II Merchant Mariners suffered the second-highest casualty rate of any of the branches of services while they delivered troops, tanks, food, airplanes, fuel and other needed supplies to every theater of the war. Compared to the large number of men and women serving in World War II, the numbers of merchant mariners were small, but their chance of dying during service was extremely high. Enemy forces sank over 800 ships between 1941 and 1944 alone.

Filner further pointed out mariners weren’t included in the GI Bill of Rights, which Congress enacted in 1945. “The merchant marine became the forgotten service,” he said. “The fact that merchant seamen had borne arms during wartime in the defense of their country did not seem to matter.”

Many WWII mariners finally received veterans’ recognition in 1988, along with access to what Filner described as a “watered-down” GI Bill. It took another 10 years to extend the cutoff date for recognition of mariners as veterans so it matched the date utilized by the military.

A member of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Filner observed, “While it is impossible to make up for over 40 years of unpaid benefits, I propose a bill that will acknowledge the service of the veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine and offer compensation for years and years of lost benefits. The average age of (World War II) merchant marine veterans is now 81. Many have outlived their savings. A monthly benefit to compensate for the loss of nearly a lifetime of ineligibility for the GI Bill would be of comfort and would provide some measure of security for veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine.”

National Coalition for Homeless Veterans Conference

From the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans website:

"NCHV will host its 13th Annual Conference May 20-22. Headquarters for the conference will be the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, in Arlington, VA, just outside of Washington, D.C.

The NCHV Annual Conference is an opportunity for service providers to access knowledge, training and experience to increase the effectiveness of their organizations in assisting homeless veterans.
View the Conference Brochure here.

Capitol Hill visits: Time is set aside on Thursday, May 21 from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for you to arrange visits with your representatives in Congress to discuss issues and legislation affecting homeless veterans. For information on how to set up meetings with your representatives, click here".

More information: http://www.nchv.org/annualconference.cfm

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Now, the cost of this conference might be a little spendy to some of us (but I supposes that's the trade-off of meeting where you might actually connect with federal public official); it might be just the thing for networking and learning. The group certainly seems to have its heart in the right place and a good group to check out. Its "Meeting With Your Congressional Representatives" pages has good advice that transcends this particular event.

Texas Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP)

The Texas legal community supports several Legal Assistance to Military Personnel-related projects. 
Operation Enduring LAMP (Legal Assistance to Military Personnel) is a program of the State Bar of Texas whereby volunteer lawyers provide pro bono legal assistance to members of the Reserves and National Guard called to active duty, and their families. This program helps with a wide range of legal issues, from probate and trust matters to employment questions.

Legal assistance may also be provided to family members in communities beyond the reach of an active duty legal assistance office. The State Bar's Texas Lawyers Care program and the Military Law Section staff this program, and Col. Bryan Spencer serves as the LAMP Director.

The State Bar provides a free four-hour CLE training with a course book to upgrade local attorneys skills in law not normally found in their practice. The subjects cover the new Service Members Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App §§501-596) signed by President Bush on December 19, 2003, (formerly the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, (38 U.S.C. §§4301-4333), Military Estate Planning, and Military Benefits. The State Bar also recruits volunteer instructors.

At a minimum, legal assistance involves counseling, telephone calls, and letter writing for signature by the client or the attorney. The client pays any out-of-pocket expenses. Local bars often provide meeting space. Local attorneys who agree to do this work pro bono provide legal assistance at the Centers/Armories on a routine basis, or in the attorney’s individual office, as appropriate.

Operation Enduring LAMP also provides pro bono Texas probate for service members who die while on active duty. This assistance includes routine probate, but not trusts and more complex probate work. Court costs, if not waived by the probate judge, are to be paid by the survivors.

Attorneys are encouraged to volunteer for either the probate or general legal assistance pro bono programs. Reserve Judge Advocates may receive points for this legal assistance.

CLE programs can be initiated by contacting Bryan Spencer at 800-204-2222 ext. 1857. Questions can be directed to LAMP Director Col. Bryan Spencer at the above number or 512-415-9176 or by e-mail at BSpencer@Texasbar.com.

Military personnel and their family members are provided assistance with their legal problems typically through the Staff Judge Advocate’s Office on each base, post, or installation. Volunteer registration of lawyers, paralegals and other legal support staff is key to the success of the LAMP program. TLC staff will receive requests for assistance and will relay these requests to volunteers.

Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans is a State Bar of Texas program to develop and assist pro bono legal clinics throughout the state for military veterans who otherwise cannot afford or do not have access to the legal services they need. The program was a major initiative of 2010–11 State Bar of Texas President Terry Tottenham.
Texas lawyers interested in helping veterans can learn more here.



The Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project (VLAP)

is a Texas Legal Services Center statewide project to expand the availability of legal assistance to low-income Texas Veterans and their families, with a focus on outreach to the disabled Veterans who live in rural areas of the state. There is no charge for the service, which is provided by telephone to eligible Veterans, at 1-800-622-2520, Option 2.


 The "One on One Assistance to Reservists" program, a joint effort between the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program and the Houston Bar Association, offers help on topics such as Estate Planning, Probate, Wills, Issues arising from SSCRA and USERRA.

Active duty service members may wish to go first to Armed Forces Legal Assistance's nice online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". A query for the state of Texas is here

The Findlaw website has a city-by-city list of lawyers interested in representing active-duty military personnel, military reservists, and veterans here.

Anyone with more information on these or other programs, please add them in a comment below. The purpose is service!

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See also State-by-state list of LAMP programs

Female Faces of War

From Wild Iris Media:

"The effects of the Iraq war on women are grossly overlooked. The public needs to know that in addition to the already astounding $12 billion in American dollars spent each month in its fifth year of engagement, women are paying an extraordinary price. One out of seven US troops are women who not only serve in unprecedented numbers, but deal with the violence of sexual assault on top of the horrors of combat. Iraqi women, who are in the line of fire with their families, also face the violence of personal attacks from religious fundamentalists.

This 50 minute documentary explores the impact of the Iraq war through the personal stories of individual women including:

• A military mother's reaction to the the news of her son's death in Iraq and her path to healing.
• The stories of Iraqi women as they fight for liberalization, peace and human rights in the extremely difficult environments of past and present Iraq.
• A soldier's experiences in a war zone and coming home haunted by intrusive thoughts and nightmares.

Several organizations and national media have requested permission to show the film when it is completed. Female Faces of War will be distributed through partnerships with community and activist organizations and by direct sales.

It is our hope that hearts and minds will break wide open, that a new sensitivity to these issues will turn into compassionate action not complacency."

FFOW is playing Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 5 pm at Amnesty International's Seattle Human Rights Film Festival. More information!

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Play the Trailer

If you're interested in a showing, post a comment below & I'll talk to the producers. I am not the producers and cannot make any promises, but they are very reasonable people!

Vermont Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP)

The Vermont legal community offers a variety of resources that may be helpful to servicemembers, veterans and their families.

• The Legal Services Law Line of Vermont lists several legal resources available to the public, at http://www.lawlinevt.org/help.html
  
• The Vermont Bar Association hosts a Lawyer Referral Service
• Active duty service members may wish to go first to Armed Forces Legal Assistance's nice online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". A query for the state of Vermont is here; if it doesn't provide a convenient resource you may try some nearby state.

Lawyers Seeking to Provide Assistance

• The Vermont Volunteer Lawyers Project (a cooperative effort of The Vermont Bar Association and Legal Services Law Line) may be the only organized pro bono project in the state of Vermont. Learn more and sign up at http://www.lawlinevt.org/vvlp.html
  
• You may also consider joining the Vermont Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service
  
• A word to the wise: there is at this writing nothing under the heading "Vermont" in the ABA's Operation Enduring LAMP Directory for Vermont. A clever person might get some free publicity while doing a good deed.

VA Settles Class-Action Lawsuit over 2006 Laptop Theft for $20 Million

From Larry Scott at VA Watchdog:

"Veterans will be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses caused by theft. Any remaining funds will be donated to vets' charities.

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Larry Scott ---
Let's go back to the Spring of 2006.

Veterans went into a panic when it was discovered that a laptop computer containing the personal information of millions of veterans and many active-duty military members had been stolen.

That laptop was recovered and the FBI determined no data had been breached.

But, many vets, believing their information to be at risk, signed up for credit protection services.

For a very complete background on this incident, go to this page...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/va%20data%20theft%20news.htm

A number of lawsuits were filed against the VA. They were later consolidated... and today, we have the outcome.

It's a $20 million settlement. And, the VA must be congratulated for working out this settlement.

In simple terms, the money will be used to reimburse vets for any out-of-pocket expenses caused by the laptop theft, such as buying a credit protection plan. Any funds left over go to vets' charities.

In the near future, we will have info on how to sign up for reimbursement.

Below is a press release regarding the settlement.

Here is the motion for preliminary approval (download).

Here is the settlement agreement (download)..."

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See the full article by L. Scott, with many more links, here.
VA Watchdog is frequently updated at
http://www.vawatchdog.org