Arizona has joined a coalition of 33 states and the District of Columbia, in asking the Supreme Court of the United States 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 Post-9/11 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 a goal of returning to the armed forces yet again, this time as a chaplain.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) denied Mr. Rudisill his Montgomery 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.
The coalition was led by Virginia’s Attorney General and includes attorneys general from
Alabama, 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, the District of Columbia as well as Arizona.