Louis Frantzis v. Todd B. Hunter, Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs

“The fundamental requirement of due process is the opportunity to be heard ‘at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner.’ ” Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 333 (1976). Therefore, where Congress has conditioned the grant of benefits on “an assessment of the recipient’s credibility,” Congress also generally requires the agency to conduct a hearing that permits “personal contact between the recipient and the person who decides his case.” Califano v. Yamasaki, 442 U.S. 682 (1979). “The one who decides must hear.” Morgan v. United States, 298 U.S. 468, 481 (1936). Federal law has long granted veterans the right to an administrative hearing regarding a benefits claim. See, e.g., 38 U.S.C. § 4002 (1958); 38 U.S.C. § 7113(b). Veterans who exercise that right can speak directly to a member of the Board of Veterans Appeals. See 38 U.S.C. § 7107(c). The credibility determinations that the Board makes based on hearing testimony are final; they cannot be disputed in later proceedings before the Court of Veterans Appeals or in the Federal Circuit. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 7261(a)(4), 7292(a). The question presented is whether, at least where the Board’s denial of a veteran’s claim is grounded in a credibility determination, the governing federal statutes or the Due Process Clause require that the Board member who conducts the hearing must be the same Board member who makes a credibility determination regarding the veteran’s testimony. (i)