Suing The DoD: How My Small Claim Just Became A Federal Case

In June of 2008, I sued the Department of Defense in small claims court because they promised me a journalism embed in Iraq and then went back on their word, costing me $1,362.15 in airfare and causing me to have to sleep at the Kuwait International Airport Starbucks for two days.

The trial date for Stillwater vs. the Department of Defense was then set for Jan. 9, 2009. All the DoD had to do to settle this case was to send someone over to the Alameda County courthouse and tell the judge either, “Yeah, sure, we owe Jane some money,” or else “Nope, no way, we don