Maybe you’ve heard this one before: an employee fails a urine test despite never having used drugs, only to discover the culprit was a poppyseed muffin. As this story unfolded over a half-hour episode of Seinfeld, the comedy of errors was easy to laugh at, but when a similar case was brought to the Veterans Legal Clinic it was no laughing matter.

As a result of his failed urinalysis, the veteran received a general rather than an honorable discharge and came to the Clinic seeking a discharge upgrade. Discharges that are not honorable can have many effects on veterans, including preventing them from accessing some veteran resources and making future employment more difficult to obtain; in addition, having an honorable discharge can be a matter of pride for veterans, recognizing their service to country. Students in the Clinic eagerly took on the case, excited by the chance to help and to tackle an interesting challenge.

Several groups of students worked on this case for the Veterans Legal Clinic, including Wyatt Decker ‘24, Briley McVey ’24, Matthew Schwartz ’24, and Ian Waggoner ‘24. According to Clinic Director Yulanda Curtis, students logged more than 115 hours working on the case and it took more than a year to hear back from the government after filing a brief. In the end, however, the clinicians prevailed and earned their client a discharge upgrade.

“There aren’t many lawyers who assist veterans with discharge upgrades…. The most recent data I have shows only about a third of veterans successfully secure a character of discharge upgrade from our client’s branch of service, so when we win these cases it feels like we took on Goliath and won,” Curtis said. “Additionally, our client just wanted someone to believe him and I think we were the first people to take him seriously.”

Immediately after his urine test came back positive, the veteran submitted hair follicles to reputable labs for secondary testing and both labs reported negative results for all drugs. However, when the veteran presented those tests to his commanding officer, they were not considered. Clinic students, however, did not dismiss the veteran’s claims of innocence and worked diligently to support him.

“A lot of the routine cases you get can be pretty formulaic…not that every case is the same, but you’ve got the same sort of motions that you’re drafting or submitting to the court arguing the same sort of preliminary hearings. But this one was a lot, you had to delve into the science of it,” Waggoner said.

In addition to skillful fact investigation that uncovered character references and grocery receipts for the offending muffins, students collaborated with professionals across campus. Research librarians helped find materials supporting the validity of hair follicle tests over urinalysis, which proved an important aspect of the case. This research, combined with a memorandum from the Department of Defense, issued shortly after their client was discharged, warning servicemembers to avoid consuming poppy seeds, created a strong case that overcame the odds against obtaining a discharge upgrade.

Because of the delays in the case, however, the students who had put in so much hard work ended their semester in the clinic and graduated without a resolution in the case.

“Having to just walk away was definitely a little frustrating, especially because he was a very involved client in the best way possible. He was easy to reach, and he trusted us,” Schwartz said.

Though their professional careers have taken them in different directions and areas of the law that may not require them to think about urinalysis, Schwartz and Waggoner felt “ecstatic” to receive news of their client’s success in upgrading his discharge early in 2025. The positive outcome also reinforced their belief in the value of clinics.

“Law school helps teach a lot and train you, but it doesn’t always feel as practical,” Schwartz said.

“You talk about the black letter law, but you will never get a class that teaches you how to respond to a client,” Waggoner added. “It’s invaluable. I think everyone should be required to do a clinic or some sort of like, practical class.”