VVA-Personality/Adjustment Disorder Discharges

The clinic represents Vietnam Veterans of America and its Connecticut chapters in a multi-pronged effort to end the unlawful discharge of thousands of service members on the alleged ground of a personality or adjustment disorder and to secure redress for the 31,000 men and women discharged on this basis since 2001. The clinic has drafted federal legislation and proposed regulations to redress these wrongful discharges, litigated two Freedom of Information Act lawsuits to obtain records regarding these practices, and authored two white papers for VVA analyzing records disclosed to date in the FOIA litigation. 

Vietnam Veterans of America v. U.S. Dept. of Defense, ___ F.Supp. 2d ___, 2014 WL 1284970 (D.Conn. Mar. 31, 2014) (granting in part and denying in part DoD motion for summary judgment in FOIA action)

Vietnam Veterans of America v. U.S. Dept. of Defense, ___ F.Supp. 2d ___, 2014 WL 1281725 (D.Conn. Mar. 28, 2014) (denying government motion to dismiss FOIA action)

Disorder in the Coast Guard: The United States Coast Guard's Illegal Personality and Adjustment Disorder Discharges (Feb. 2014)

Press Release: Previously Withheld Records Reveal Widespread Illegality in U.S. Coast Guard Mental Health Discharges (Feb. 27, 2014.)

Amended Complaint, Vietnam Veterans of America v. U.S. Dept. of Def., 3:10-cv-1972-AWT (D.Conn.) (“VVA I”)

Complaint, Vietnam Veterans of America v. U.S. Dept. of Def., 3:11-cv-2009-WWE (D.Conn.) (“VVA II”) 

Casting Troops Aside: The United States Military’s Illegal Personality Disorder Discharge Problem (Mar. 2012) 

Media Clips:

Lisa Chedekel, Vet Groups Want Answers To ‘Wrongful’ Discharges, New Haven Independent, Dec 15, 2010

Nikita Lalwani, Law School clinic files second suit this week against Department of Defense, Yale Daily News, Dec 15, 2010

Joseph Picard, Pentagon swindling vets, lawsuit says, International Business Times, Dec 15, 2010

James Dao, Branding a Soldier With 'Personality Disorder', The New York Times, February 24, 2012

Dr. Phil Leveque, Military Psychiatrists with Personality Disorder, Salem-News.com, Feb 29, 2012

Newly Disclosed Records Reveal Hundreds More Illegal Personality Discharges; VVA Finds Navy and Air Force Worst Offenders, PR Newswire, March 22, 2012

Erik Slavin, Veterans study: Thousands wrongfully discharged for personality disorders, Stars and Stripes, March 26, 2012