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James R. Rudisill v. Denis R. McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 2020-1637 · judgment December 15, 2022

Decided · April 16, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 5% cert probability

Before the decision, modestly above the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), a Federal Circuit decision below, and a petition filed soon after the judgment below.

Question presented

Whether a veteran who has served two separate and distinct periods of qualifying service under the Montgomery GI Bill, 38 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq., and under the Post9/11 GI Bill, 38 U.S.C. § 3301 et seq., is entitled to receive a total of 48 months of education benefits as between both programs, without first exhausting the Montgomery benefit in order to obtain the more generous Post-9/11 benefit.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Misha Tseytlin
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP

For respondent
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
4 cert-stage · 11 merits
(11 supporting pet./neither)

Argument & decision

Argued November 8, 2023 — Misha Tseytlin · Vivek Suri. Audio and transcript

Decided April 16, 2024. Opinion by Jackson.

Proceedings

  1. May 20 2024
    Judgment Issued.
    Main Document
  2. Apr 16 2024
    Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Jackson, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Kavanaugh, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Barrett, J., joined. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Alito, J., joined.
  3. Nov 08 2023
    Argued. For petitioner: Misha Tseytlin, Chicago, Ill. For respondent: Vivek Suri, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C.
  4. Oct 11 2023
    Reply of petitioner James R. Rudisill filed. (Distributed)
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  5. Sep 18 2023
    CIRCULATED
  6. Sep 15 2023
    Record received from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The record is electronic and available on PACER.
  7. Sep 14 2023
    Record from the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims received electronically and available with the Clerk.
  8. Sep 11 2023
    Brief of respondent Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs filed.
    Main DocumentProof of Service
  9. Sep 07 2023
    Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
  10. Sep 06 2023
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, November 8, 2023.
  11. Aug 17 2023
    Brief amici curiae of National Veterans Legal Services Program, et al. filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  12. Aug 17 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  13. Aug 17 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of National Institute of Military Justice filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  14. Aug 17 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Military-Veterans Advocacy Inc. filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  15. Aug 17 2023
    Brief amici curiae of 10 Veterans filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  16. Aug 17 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  17. Aug 17 2023
    Brief amici curiae of Senator Tim Kaine, et al. filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  18. Aug 17 2023
    Brief amici curiae of Virginia, et al. filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  19. Aug 17 2023
    Amicus brief of The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) not accepted for filing (Corrected version submitted Aug. 24,2023).
  20. Aug 17 2023
    Brief amici curiae of The Edison Electric Institute, et al. filed (Aug. 29, 2023).
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  21. Aug 16 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of The American Legion filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  22. Aug 14 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Jeremy C. Doerre filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  23. Aug 10 2023
    Brief of petitioner James R. Rudisill filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  24. Aug 10 2023
    Joint appendix and 1 supplemental volume filed. (Statement of cost received.)
    Main DocumentOtherProof of Service
  25. Jun 26 2023
    Petition GRANTED.
  26. Jun 20 2023
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/22/2023.
  27. May 30 2023
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/15/2023.
  28. May 25 2023
    Reply of petitioner James R. Rudisill filed.
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count
  29. May 15 2023
    Brief of respondent Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs in opposition filed.
    Main DocumentProof of Service
  30. Apr 14 2023
    Brief amici curiae of Virginia, et al. filed.
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count
  31. Apr 14 2023
    Brief amici curiae of 7 Veterans filed.
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count
  32. Apr 14 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of The Edison Electric Institute filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  33. Apr 14 2023
    Brief amici curiae of National Veterans Legal Services Program, et al. filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  34. Mar 28 2023
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including May 15, 2023.
  35. Mar 27 2023
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 14, 2023 to May 15, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  36. Mar 13 2023
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 14, 2023)
    PetitionCertificate of Word CountProof of Service