Investigation: Issue Disposition Codes Exposed to Users

[D-L-Ware]

Description

Confirm what is available as a issue disposition in Caseflow and whether the available dispositions vary depending on role, i.e. attorney vs. judge.

Background/context/resources

The Board reached out because a judge indicated that, in regard to coding an issue as dismissed, they only had access to "dismissed, death" when they case was dismissed not for death but as a matter of law.

Using Tableau reports, appeals with "dismissed, matter of law" coded as disposition so were found so it appears to be an available option to some users. The Board has asked us to confirm that both attorneys and judges see the same disposition options when coding issue disposition and that it includes "dismissed, matter of law"

The Board also sent me this,

Here’s the decision issues table: disposition

allowed Granted Consolidated with another Contention Deferred DTA Error - PMRs DTA Error - Other Recs dismissed_matter_of_law Withdrawn Difference of Opinion Denied denied remanded withdrawn DTA Error - Exam/MO DTA Error - Fed Recs Dismissed dismissed_death stayed DTA Error vacated

[D-L-Ware]

Responded in email. I had to use demo (because using production would have required moving an appeal to dispatch), however, I have been assured respecting this functionality demo and production match. I confirmed that both attorneys and judges have the same disposition options in the UI when coding a disposition for an issue.

I did make clear to the Board that the dispositions table they referenced in their email includes both the options coded for decision issue disposition and the remand reasons options that come up in the event a remand is coded as the decision issue disposition.