Frank Kinson Published in Military Service and the Law
"Servicemembers Civil Relief Act"

Frank Kinson co-authored the chapter, "Servicemembers Civil Relief Act," published in Military Service and the Law, a publication for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. In their chapter, the authors provide a general overview of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which protects the rights of uniformed servicemembers. The authors outline the public policy behind the law's enactment and explain how it is applied. They also reference some of the related Illinois laws that Illinois practitioners should keep in mind. As noted in the chapter, the protections of SCRA include: delays of civil and administrative proceedings, the reopening of default judgments, the tolling of limitation periods, the early termination of leases, protection against evictions, caps on interest rates, special tax relief, and insurance reinstatement rights.

According to the authors, “In its current form, the SCRA constitutes the broadest collection of rights afforded to military members by virtue of active duty in our nation’s history. Congress continues to examine how the SCRA can be further clarified and amended.” The authors note that history suggests there will be more amendments to the SCRA in order to meet the new challenges created by our current military force structure and our nation's ever-evolving defense policies. They conclude, “The current wars often require multiple deployments of servicemembers abroad, which heightens the need to protect their affairs at home."