National Association of Radiation Survivors v. Edward J. Derwinski, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs

A class of individuals with claims for Veterans’ Administration (“VA”) benefits based on exposure to ionizing radiation during service (“IR claimants/plaintiffs”) challenges the constitutionality of a statute that limits to $10 the amount a claimant can pay an attorney representing him in pursuit of VA benefits.' The United States District Court for the Northern District of California held that this fee limitation violates the IR claimants’ procedural due process rights as well as their First Amendment right to free speech and to petition the government. We reverse.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 1983, plaintiffs- — two veterans’ organizations and four individuals — brought an action challenging the constitutionality of 38 U.S.C. §§ 3404 and 3405 (now codified as amended at 38 U.S.C. §§ 5904 and 5905), which limit the fee a veteran or his survivor may pay an attorney to assist him in prosecuting a claim before the VA to $10. The district court granted a nationwide preliminary injunction prohibiting the enforcement of the fee limit. National Ass’n of Radiation Survivors v. Walters, 589 F.Supp. 1302 (N.D.Cal.1984). The government appealed directly to the Supreme Court,…