Three student lawyers with the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic meet with a local veteran.

Service members injured in active duty are entitled to receive disability benefits and associated medical care from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). But navigating the process can be intimidating.

Beth Kubala

Thanks to the efforts of the (VLC) within the , hundreds of area veterans have received their benefits or successfully upgraded their military discharge through the pro bono, student-offered legal services since its founding in 2015.

鈥淥ur law students get a chance to get into the legal practice, taking everything they鈥檝e learned and put it into practice working on real cases with real clients with real challenges,鈥� says , executive director of the Office of Clinical Legal Education, director of the VLC, teaching professor in the College of Law and a U.S. Army veteran. 鈥淭his is a chance to make a tremendous difference, helping veterans get the VA medical care and the disability benefits they earned.鈥�

Collaborating With Community Service Partners

Veterans are referred to the VLC through organizations like the Onondaga County Veterans Service Agency, which provides a yearly grant to help facilitate the VLC鈥檚 efforts, and the 黑料不打烊 VA Medical Center. The community partner organizations will often refer veterans who have had their medical claims denied multiple times.

Knowing that new evidence is needed for the VA to consider reopening a claim, Kubala鈥檚 students study pages of military documents and health care records to learn everything they can about the tasks the client performed and the injuries or illnesses the veterans suffered while serving that contributed to their current health issues. Comprehensive medical exams are conducted to verify the disabilities being claimed.

Annie Mancilla

鈥淭here鈥檚 a great collaboration between our teams,鈥� says Annie Mancilla, director of the Onondaga County Veterans Service Agency and an Army veteran. 鈥淲e know how to handle new and initial claims, and Beth鈥檚 team comes in, handles those trickier claims and succeeds at getting intricate cases adjudicated quickly and fairly.鈥�

When she was training as a veteran service officer, Mancilla says veterans service agencies partnering with clinics like the VLC were rare. She hopes the collaborative work on display in 黑料不打烊 can inspire other partnerships across the country between university-led student law clinics and veterans service agencies.

鈥淲e have to work together to help our veterans,鈥� Mancilla says. 鈥淭his partnership is so beneficial and we鈥檙e at the beginning of something special that is going to continue to grow and have a tremendous impact on our veterans.鈥�

Helping Veterans at Risk for Homelessness

Two years ago, the VLC received a聽, a first-of-its-kind grant opportunity from the VA to fund legal services providers. The VLC is one of just four University-affiliated veterans legal clinics to receive grant money.

Once a week, VLC students go over cases at the Altamont House, a facility that provides transitional housing to veterans facing homelessness. Kubala says this grant has enhanced and solidified the VLC鈥檚 partnership with the 黑料不打烊 VA while showing how the clinic can help those veterans receive access to health care and their benefits.

鈥淲e鈥檙e able to make such a significant difference in the lives of so many homeless veterans in and around 黑料不打烊,鈥� Kubala says. 鈥淥ur students not only gain expertise while strengthening their legal skills, they gain confidence and a better ability to relate to others, and they understand how they can help others with their law degree.鈥�

Beth Kubala (center) meets with two student lawyers in the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic.

Using Law Degrees to Do Good

VLC student lawyer Sarah Simon-Patches 鈥�24 took on the case of a veteran who filed his own claim with the VA after suffering medical hardships stemming from his time in the military.

Sarah Simon-Patches

Oftentimes, veterans who file their claims on their own don鈥檛 fully understand the criteria and can be denied a portion of their benefits. With a rating of only 20% of his disability benefits, the veteran, a self-employed mechanic from Kansas City, Missouri, was unable to return home to his sons, lost his job and experienced homelessness.

After Simon-Patches combed through the evidence to understand why the veteran fell short of the VA鈥檚 criteria, she successfully helped him obtain his full share of benefits and he has been reunited with his family.

鈥淚t felt like a huge relief. Here was someone who was experiencing homelessness, unemployed and anxious about his future being separated from his family and came to us for help,鈥� says Simon-Patches, who has a brother and grandfather who served in the military.

鈥淭he average veteran, especially our homeless veterans, would not have access to these resources otherwise,鈥� Simon-Patches says. 鈥淥ur clinic is well-equipped to successfully navigate this system and handle the different needs of our veterans.鈥�

Fighting to Make a Difference

Before Seth Owens enrolled in the College of Law, he spent 13 years as a physical therapist, treating many veterans and active-duty service members. He started in the VLC in the spring of 2023 and realized he was meant to be there.

Seth Owens

鈥淵ou have to bring this mindset to every interaction with a client that I鈥檓 going to know everything I can about your case,鈥� says Owens, the LSV-H program manager and a Veterans鈥� Health and Disability Law Fellow with the VLC. 鈥淧rofessor Kubala鈥檚 reputation for having an amazing clinical experience and producing students who do such a high quality of work is well known in the veterans鈥� community.鈥�

Simon-Patches was so inspired by the impact her work was making, she applied to and was accepted into the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General鈥檚 Corps, a government law organization that defends the Army and its soldiers in all military legal matters.

鈥淭his work has meant so much to me and this program wouldn鈥檛 be what it is without the work that Professor Kubala does,鈥� Simon-Patches says. 鈥淲e make a difference in the lives of our veterans and we want veterans to know we鈥檙e here for them as a resource.鈥�

鈥淚t amazes me every day the work that comes out of the clinic,鈥� Kubala says. 鈥淚 like to think that I inspire the next generation of veteran advocates. There are ways to use a law degree for the greater good, and this is one of those ways.鈥�

Beth Kubala (center) leading a classroom discussion in the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic. (Photo by Angela Ryan)

The College of Law saw 86% of recent graduates鈥攖hose who earned their degrees between 2022 and 2024鈥攕uccessfully pass the bar exam in the February or July 2024 administration.

These results highlight the effectiveness of 黑料不打烊 Law鈥檚 strategic investments in bar preparation and academic support. 鈥淥ur targeted initiatives are making a significant impact on student outcomes,鈥� says Associate Dean of Students Kelly Curtis. 鈥淏y strengthening academic support and bar preparation programs, we ensure our graduates have the best possible chance of success on the bar exam and in their legal careers.鈥�

Over the past several years, the College has implemented key initiatives that position grads for the rigors of the exam and their legal careers. These include:

• Improved admissions profile with higher median LSAT scores and GPAs.
• Curricular enhancements designed to focus on bar-related coursework.
• Expanded academic success programming, offering earlier interventions and targeted support starting before the third year.
• New staff hires in the Office of Academic and Bar Success and increased resources focused on bar preparation.

The results speak for themselves: This marks a 15-year high for first-time bar takers. In February 2024, 黑料不打烊 Law was ranked No. 8 for ultimate bar passage and No. 27 for first-time bar test takers by in its Winter 2024 edition. Additionally, for seven of the past eight graduating classes, the College鈥檚 ultimate bar passage rate exceeded 90%, demonstrating consistent, long-term success.

Building on this momentum, 黑料不打烊 Law has partnered with Kaplan Bar Review to further enhance student readiness. 鈥淎t 黑料不打烊 Law, we are dedicated to equipping our students with the tools they need to excel academically and professionally,鈥� says Dean Terence Lau L鈥�98. 鈥淭he partnership with Kaplan strengthens Dean Curtis鈥檚 comprehensive approach to bar preparation, ensuring that students receive structured support throughout their law school journey, culminating in a robust bar review program to set them up for success.鈥� This partnership provides expanded resources and preparation strategies, ensuring even greater success for future graduates.

Looking ahead, 黑料不打烊 Law is proactively preparing for the NextGen Bar Exam, which launches in July 2026. Faculty and administrators are actively working with students to adapt to this new era of attorney licensure, ensuring that 黑料不打烊 graduates remain well-prepared.

黑料不打烊 Law鈥檚 commitment to student success is evident not only in its strong bar passage rates but also in its forward-thinking approach to legal education. By continually enhancing programming and investing in student success, 黑料不打烊 Law is setting the standard for bar exam preparation and legal education excellence.

Kevin Adonis Browne

The program is designed to facilitate cross-institutional networking and collaboration among academic leaders while building leadership capacity at participating ACC institutions.

黑料不打烊 members included in the 2025 cohort are:

• , associate professor of writing studies, rhetoric and composition and chair of the Humanities Council,

  Brad Horn

• , professor of practice in public relations and associate dean for strategic initiatives,
• , teaching professor, executive director of clinical education and executive director of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic,

  Elizabeth Kubala

• , assistant dean for undergraduate programs,
• , assistant provost for arts and community programming, Office of Strategic Initiatives,

  Lindsay Quilty

Miranda Staats Traudt

The program will kick off with a virtual event on Feb. 7, followed by three on-site sessions at Wake Forest University (March 26-28), the University of Miami (June 23-25) and Georgia Institute of Technology (Oct. 20-22).

The sessions will focus on leadership topics and trends in higher education while promoting leadership growth, awareness and effectiveness.

Participating faculty members from all member institutions have received foundational leadership training and served at least one year in a relevant leadership role.

黑料不打烊 will honor eight distinguished members of the Orange community during the , which is being held on Friday, April 4, in the National Veterans Resource Center at the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building (NVRC). All members of the community are invited to attend this complimentary program. Registration will open in February.

This annual event recognizes and celebrates the exceptional accomplishments of alumni and students who exemplify what it means to be Forever Orange.聽The honorees were selected by the awards committee of the Board of Directors.聽The committee will soon announce the 2025 Outstanding Future Alumni Award, which goes to a most deserving student.

The George Arents Award is 黑料不打烊鈥檚 highest alumni honor and recognizes individuals who have excelled in their fields.聽This year鈥檚 honorees are Paul Greenberg 鈥�65, P鈥�03; Melanie Littlejohn G鈥�97; and Judith 鈥淛udy鈥� C. Mower 鈥�66, G鈥�73, G鈥�80, Ph.D.鈥�84.

Chelsea Ransom-Cooper 鈥�15 will receive the Generation Orange Award, which recognizes graduates from the past decade for career success, community engagement and overall commitment to 黑料不打烊.

Jack Kreischer 鈥�65 will receive the Melvin A. Eggers Senior Alumni Award for his loyalty and service to 黑料不打烊 over the past 50 years.

Jamieson R. Ritter 鈥�19 will posthumously receive the Military/Veteran Alumni Award. Ritter passed away in the line of duty while serving as a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio. This award highlights his bravery and dedication to our country and community.

Kimberly Wolf Price L鈥�03 will be awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award for her commitment to 黑料不打烊 as a volunteer.

The Outstanding Future Alumni Award honoree will be announced in February.

and plan to join us in April for the celebration.

In this article, Prof. Germain summarizes the status of all of the cases and discusses what happens next. If you’d like to schedule an interview, please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, executive director of media relations at ejmbuqe@syr.edu.

Criminal Cases

1. Falsifying Business Records, New York Law.聽 Trump has been convicted and is scheduled to be sentenced for a Class E felony for falsifying business records in the criminal case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and pending before Judge Juan Merchan.聽 He faces potential prison time in the case.
2. Election Interference, Georgia Law.聽 Trump has been indicted in Georgia by District Attorney Fani Willis for election interference.聽 The case has been mired in controversy following revelations that Willis had an affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.聽 Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee allowed Willis to continue with the prosecution if Wade resigned, which he did, but the case has been derailed by an appeal from Trump and the other defendants.
3. Classified Documents – Federal Law.聽 Trump has been indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith on federal charges for stealing, retaining, and making false statements about classified documents that he took from the White House after losing the 2020 election.聽 The case was assigned to District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, and was reversed by the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals for earlier rulings improperly taking jurisdiction and appointing a special master during the investigation of the document theft.聽 Judge Cannon dismissed the charges against Trump on a technicality, by finding that Jack Smith鈥檚 appointment under the Department of Justice鈥檚 special counsel regulation, and the regulation itself, violated the appointments clause of the Constitution.聽 Cannon did not give the government an opportunity to remedy the election clause deficiency, such as by appointing a Senate approved United States Attorney to supervise the case.聽 Cannon鈥檚 decision is on appeal to the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals.
4. Election Interference – Federal Law.聽 Trump has been indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith for election interference in the 2020 election.聽 The case was delayed because of controversy concerning the standard for presidential immunity.聽 The trial court and the D.C. Circuit ruled that a former president has no immunity for crimes committed while in office.聽 The Supreme Court reversed that in , ruling that a president has broad immunity for actions taken even in bad faith and for personal gain broadly connected with his official duties.聽 Prosecutor Jack Smith has attempted to limit the indictment to address the Supreme Court鈥檚 immunity ruling, but serious immunity questions remain.聽 The case is pending before Judge Tanja Chutkan, a Barack Obama appointee.

Civil Cases

1. Defamation – New York Law.聽 E. Jean Carroll recovered an $83,300,000 civil judgment against Trump in Manhattan for defamation.聽 Carroll claimed that Donald Trump sexually attacked her in a department store in the 1990s, and claimed that Trump鈥檚 denials and attacks constituted defamation.聽 Trump posted a bond and obtained a stay pending appeal, and the case is on appeal.
2. Financial Statement Fraud – New York Law.聽 New York Attorney General Letitia James, who campaigned for election on promises to 鈥済et Trump,鈥� brought civil claims against Trump for disgorgement of gains realized by using an inflated personal financial statement used when seeking insurance policies and obtaining secured claims for his subsidiary corporations from sophisticated lenders.聽 State court judge Arthur F. Engoron awarded the Attorney General $363,800,000 in damages, which now amounts to over $450,000,000 with interest.聽 The court also barred Trump and other executives from being officers of a New York corporation, and appointed a receiver to liquidate Trump鈥檚 company.聽 The Court of Appeals granted a special stay pending appeal upon the posting of a reduced $175,000,000 bond.聽 The liberal 1^st Department Appellate Division raised questions about the propriety of the judgment.

There seems little doubt that the federal cases brought by Jack Smith will be terminated.

Gregory Germain

What happens to the Criminal Cases?

The Department of Justice has issued two detailed memorandum opinions, one in 1973 and another in , discussing a sitting president鈥檚 scope of immunity from criminal and civil actions.聽 In both opinions, the Department determined that a sitting president cannot be indicted, prosecuted or jailed for a criminal claim while in office.聽 The Department based both decisions on the principles of separation of powers 鈥� holding that the indictment, prosecution or jailing of a sitting president would allow one branch of government (the judiciary) to interfere with another branch of government (the executive).聽 No other executive officers (including the Vice President 鈥� a matter of contemporaneous concern for Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1973) would enjoy such immunity.聽 The opinions apply equally to federal and state prosecutions.

So it鈥檚 clear that the federal prosecutions brought by Jack Smith will not continue, even if Trump did not pardon himself or cause Smith to be removed from office and replaced with a loyal alternative.聽 And there is every indication from Trump that he will attempt to remove Smith or accept his resignation, or more likely will pardon himself.聽 While the Department has another opinion rejecting the President鈥檚 power to self-pardon, the Supreme Court鈥檚 immunity ruling stated that a President鈥檚 pardon power is unlimited 鈥� even suggesting that the corrupt sale of pardons would not affect the validity of the pardons.聽 So I have no doubt that the Supreme Court majority would uphold a self-pardon.聽 So there seems little doubt that the federal cases brought by Jack Smith will be terminated.

The President鈥檚 pardon power does not extend to state prosecutions.聽 However, the Justice Department鈥檚 separation of powers rulings apply to all criminal prosecutions, state and federal.聽 Under the Justice Department鈥檚 opinion, it seems clear that the state criminal prosecutions must be stayed while President Trump is in office.聽 There is even an argument under those opinions that the cases must be dismissed, because the opinions held that an indictment of a sitting president that was stayed from further prosecution while in office would interfere with the functioning of the presidency.聽 The same could be argued for a stayed sentence.聽 I also have no doubt that the current Supreme Court would agree with the separation of powers arguments made in the Justice Department鈥檚 rulings.聽 In its immunity decision, the Supreme Court adopted the broadest possible view of presidential immunity, and even the dissenting justices expressed concern about politically-based state prosecutions interfering with the functioning of the president.聽 So in all likelihood, the state criminal cases will be put on hold during Trump鈥檚 presidency.聽 If they try to continue with the prosecutions, or even to impose a stayed sentence, I suspect the decisions will be reversed on appeal.聽 It is even possible that the cases will be dismissed.

What Happens to the Civil Cases?

The continuation of the civil cases is far more uncertain.聽 There are two important civil precedents from the Supreme Court:聽 , and .聽 In Nixon v. Fitzgerald, the Court recognized that the sitting president is broadly immune from liability in civil actions for official conduct, both while in office or afterward.聽 The case has limited applicability to the three civil actions discussed above, because all of the alleged acts (defamation, falsifying business records, and inflating financial statement) had nothing to do with his official acts, not did the acts occur primarily while he was in office.

The second case, Clinton v Jones, involved civil charges by Paula Jones for alleged misconduct before Clinton was in office and completely unrelated to his official duties.聽 The Supreme Court held that the civil charges could continue, but that the court would have to make special arrangements from the president鈥檚 participation in the action so as not to interfere with the performance of his presidential duties, suggesting that any depositions would have to be taken in the White House, and that the president could not be compelled to testify live).聽 So the Clinton case suggests that the appeals in the civil cases can continue, because they are unlikely to require President Trump鈥檚 personal participation.聽 If, as I think likely because of legal errors and excessive awards, the civil cases are reversed on appeal and remanded for new trials, the courts on remand would have to be very careful to conduct a fair trial without interfering with the president鈥檚 official functions.

If the election shows anything, it shows that the public does not like politically motivated prosecutions and impeachments.

Gregory Germain

Thoughts on the Future of Politically Motivated Prosecutions

The Democratic Party and its politically motivated government prosecutors also need to reconsider their actions.聽 If the election shows anything, it shows that the public does not like politically motivated prosecutions and impeachments.聽 The argument that Trump was a convicted felon backfired, as the public saw him as a victim of biased and politically motivated prosecutions brought in Democratic strongholds.聽 Now the ball is in Trump鈥檚 court to see if he will carry through on his threats to 鈥渄o unto others as they did unto him.鈥澛� If he does carry through on his threats, I suspect his support will quickly fade.

• “The current state of aviation, even in the wealthiest countries in the world, is too often punishing to passengers who rely on mobility devices or have disabilities. Air travel remains unique in its inaccessibility, as it still requires wheelchair users to forfeit their mobility devices in order to board planes, unlike, bus, subway, trains, boats or taxi transport. Airlines have not invested sufficiently in ensuring the safety of disabled passengers,” said True-Frost.

Please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, executive director of media relations, at ejmbuqe@syr.edu to schedule an interview.

• 鈥淎n estimated 2.2 million Americans live in long-term care facilities in the United States. Many of these Americans鈥攑erhaps the majority鈥攚ould vote if voting were accessible to them. Unfortunately, as we show, long-term care residents face systemic disenfranchisement. Specifically, based on our systematic review of nursing home investigation reports, we present disturbing new empirical evidence that demonstrates how burdensome election procedures, profound isolation, and widespread failure by facilities to provide required assistance prevent long-term care residents from voting. Noting that entities traditionally enforcing voting rights have largely ignored these problems, we call for a new wave of voting rights litigation aimed at dismantling barriers to long-term care voter participation and provide a roadmap for how existing law could be employed in such litigation. Finally, continued disenfranchisement of long-term care residents has profound implications not only for older adults and people with disabilities but also for democratic legitimacy.鈥�