OK, I'm going to give you the rest of the story on this thread. Back in September 2010, I met with Bryan Lee Ciyou, to get started on the appeal. He was excellent in his approach, and we put together a whole binder full of information for the Board to "supplement" my original application. The approach was one to buttress my application in such a way that it would be very difficult to argue against my suitability for a LTCH.
I did have a brief psychological eval done, which came out clean. We sent verification that my treating psychologist from 19 years earlier was indeed dead. We sent copies of Ohio mental health records law, showing that after seven years, records can be destroyed, justifying why I couldn't produce any records.
Then we submitted all sorts of things that indicated from other parties that I was not impaired, such as my license from the State Board of Psychology, my contract work with federal agencies to perform fitness for duty evaluations, etc. So, in went my professional resume. The whole binder was more than an inch thick. The point was to provide additional information to clarify why I was a suitable person for an LTCH.
In the end, last March, almost a year after I originally applied, the board reconsidered my application and granted the LTCH. I did not have to go through the appeals process.
Here's where having an excellent attorney really helped. Bryan Lee Ciyou knows the law around LTCH and the adminstrative process very well; he's handled hundreds of cases in the area. He also knows the people involved in the process. He was a top-notch advocate for me.
This was not a cheap process; in all, with the psychological evaluation and everything, it cost me over $3K to go through the process to get the LTCH. It's worth having. And it was good to see that the process works, at least if one has the money and perseverance.
It was also good to get to know Bryan. If I am ever in a situation where I need an attorney in a firearms/self-defense situation, I know who I will call. The guy is competent, and I've dealt with quite a number of attorneys in the past, some as an expert witness, and few of them have impressed me.
-ski-
Congratulations on completing your goal! It is indeed sad that someone must pay exorbitant sums of money to exercise his or her rights, solely because of bureaucratic .
Thanks for posting the results as well; I remembered your thread once I started reading it... it's good to see results and closure.
Blessings,
Bill