The Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals (DOHA) published summaries of 624 appeals cases for security clearance denials or revocations. The total number of appeals submitted dropped by one-third from last year.
As in previous years, financial issues outnumbered all other issues combined and resulted in most of the initial denials and most were upheld by DOHA after appeal. The number of cases involving use of illegal drugs (mostly marijuana) has steadily climbed over the past two years, most likely due to the increase in the number of states that have legalized marijuana use. Denials involving the use of drugs usually involved the failure to disclose information about their drug use as required or their stated intent to continue to use since it was legal at the state level.
BREAKDOWN OF DENIALS BY ADJUDICATIVE GUIDELINES
Below is a breakdown by adjudicative category of the types of issues involved resulting in the initial denial (Note- many cases involved multiple issues).
RESOURCES FOR CLEARANCE APPLICANTS AND HOLDERS
For those seeking or already holding a clearance visit ClearanceJobs.com and the ClearanceJobsBlog forum to browse through a variety of topics on security clearance processes and background investigations. You can also pose questions for a subject matter expert to comment on. Just keep in mind the site is merely a place to provide information and facilitate general dialogue about various security clearance topics. No legal advice is being given.
