Milestone Argument at CAVC

On November 15, 2017, Judges Mary J. Schoelen, Coral Wong Pietsch, and Margaret Bartley heard argument in Marcelino v. Shulkin, No. 16-2149. The argument marked the first time in the 29-year history of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims that an all-female panel of judges presided over an oral argument.

Judges Coral W. Pietsch, Mary J. Schoelen, and Margaret Bartley

Chief Judge Robert Davis congratulated the panel on its significance, adding that he was proud to be a member of the Court when half of its judges “are exceptionally talented and dedicated jurists who also happen to be women.”

Judge Schoelen was appointed to the Court in 2004, becoming its first female judge. Judges Pietsch and Bartley joined her on the bench in 2012, and Judge Amanda L. Meredith joined the Court in 2017.

Judges Pietsch, Schoelen, and Bartley with law clerks Lauren Holmsley, Sommer Dean, and Shannon Noble