Veterans Advocacy
Justice for Veterans
Fighting a Naturalization Mandate
In October 2024, Sidley filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on behalf of 10 veterans’ organizations who have joined together in opposition to a U.S. Department of Defense policy enforcing a one-year service requirement before noncitizen service members can apply for citizenship during wartime.
The brief examined text, history, and public policy to argue that — in recognition of noncitizen service members’ vital contributions and for the good of the military itself — Congress intended for noncitizen service members to be eligible for prompt naturalization during periods of armed conflict. Sidley argued that, by designing the statutory scheme in this manner, Congress enhanced military readiness while protecting foreign-born servicemembers from unique risks, including post-deployment deportation. Finally, the brief observed that the DOD’s desired policy change would disrupt a decades-long practice which had no discernible downside for the military or its service members.
Righting a Historic Wrong: Port Chicago
Sidley is representing the descendants of two U.S. Navy sailors who are pursuing posthumous honorable discharges in connection with the Port Chicago disaster in California during World War II. On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion at the port killed 320 people and injured 400 more. Three weeks after the explosion, the Navy released a report blaming the Black sailors of Port Chicago for the accident. When the 258 surviving Black sailors, including Jack Crittenden and Cyril Sheppard, were asked to continue loading munitions without any additional training or changes to the Navy ordnance safety protocol, they refused. Of the 258 sailors who refused to continue loading munitions, 208 eventually returned to work under threat, while 50 were tried and convicted of mutiny and disobeying a lawful order. As a result of their convictions, the “Port Chicago 50” were denied honorable discharges, and received hard labor, demotions, and lost wages.
In July 2024, exactly 80 years after the explosion, the Navy exonerated all of the 258 sailors. On the heels of the exoneration, Sidley is working with Hiram Crittenden, Jack Crittenden’s son, and Carol Cherry, Cyril Sheppard’s daughter, to correct their fathers’ discharge paperwork. Together with the Port Chicago Alliance, the Sidley team is preparing applications to the Board for Correction of Naval Records to right this injustice that disadvantaged both men and their families.
A Decisive Victory for Combat-Wounded Veterans
Sidley secured an important victory in the U.S. Supreme Court for Corporal Simon Soto, a former Marine, and a class of more than 9,000 veterans who were denied the full extent of their retroactive Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC). In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court held that veterans with combat-related disabilities are entitled to receive CRSC benefits for all months in which they are eligible, no matter when they applied for such benefits.
Specifically, in Soto v. United States, the Court ruled that the CRSC statute directs the secretaries of the military departments to determine what amount of CRSC is due to eligible combat-wounded veterans, without regard to the date the veteran applied for CRSC. This decision overturns the Federal Circuit’s ruling that veterans’ claims for CRSC are adjudicated under a separate federal law, the Barring Act, which limits the availability of retroactive benefits. The Court’s decision ensures that these veterans, who were injured serving their country, will receive the full benefits to which they are entitled.
This case is a part of the firm’s long-standing pro bono commitment to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. Sidley has represented Corporal Soto from the filing of his initial complaint through this decisive victory in the Supreme Court. The firm is co-counsel with the National Veterans Legal Services Program on the matter.
