Judge dismisses suit charging VA with shoddy mental health care

[Kadie]

Judge dismisses suit charging VA with shoddy mental health care
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

(06-25) 11:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge in San Francisco dismissed a nationwide lawsuit by veterans groups today that sought major changes in the Department of Veterans Affairs' mental health system because of long waits for treatment and benefits.

Veterans' advocates accused the VA of making mental health care virtually unavailable to thousands of discharged soldiers through perfunctory exams, delays in referrals and treatment, and a prolonged and complex system of awarding medical benefits.

They cited internal department e-mails, released in response to the suit, that reported 18 suicides a day among all veterans and 1,000 suicide attempts a month among those under VA care. About 30 percent of the nation's 24 million veterans receive medical care from the department, which is required to provide care for five years after a veteran is discharged from active duty.

snip...
"The remedies sought by plaintiffs are beyond the power of this court and would call for a complete overhaul of the VA system," Conti said in an 82-page ruling. He said he found "no systemic violations" of law that would justify court intervention.

"Congress has specifically precluded district courts from reviewing veterans' benefits decisions and has entrusted decisions regarding veterans' medical care to the discretion of the VA secretary," said the judge, a World War II veteran who was appointed to the bench by President Richard Nixon.

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/25/BAB111EUFF.DTL&tsp=1

[midnight]

1. A judge put in office by Nixon. He has got to go.

[ColbertWatcher]

2. Agreed.

Dismissing this case is a disgrace.

[truedelphi]

3. This is one of the major reasons that taking a case to court is so difficult

Most Americans do not know that one of the things in place during our initial years as a country is that lawyers could only represent themselves.

The Framers of oour Constitution envisioned a society in which there would be no need for lawyers, and that things would be kept simple and "sane" enough for any free man to represent himself, safe in the knowledge that another "simple" and "sane" free man would be hearing the case.

The judge took 82 pages to explain his throwing the case out - and it all comes down to the fact that in his view, only the Secretary of the VA agency can receive such a lawsuit.

Many times today court cases that shou dhave been brought to Federal COutrt are thrown out at the state level and vice versa.

Even lawyers themselves don't know how to procede - and often no matter how a case is approached, the case will be thrown out (The Feds saying the State should have received the case and the State saying the Feds should have received it.)

[gratuitous]

4. Oh noes! Not a complete overhaul

Seems we were up to the task and the challenge with the public schools in the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education. I guess Judge Conti doesn't think Americans can do anything anymore.

And how does he make a finding of "no systemic violations"? If the VA isn't following the law, either due to practice or design, there's a systemic violation almost by definition. But Conti doesn't think the federal courts are the place to enforce the law on a federal agency. Where the fuck are citizens supposed to find redress for grievances? Is Conti advocating a torch-carrying mob? Because that's what we're being reduced to.