Disability law refers to laws related to individuals with disabilities; specifically, these laws protect disabled individuals from certain kinds of discrimination. Disability laws are particularly concerned with employment, housing, education, and access to public services.
Does the Veterans’ Judicial Review Act strip federal district courts of jurisdiction to hear constitutional challenges to laws affecting veterans’ benefits?
This case asks the Supreme Court to consider whether the Veterans’ Judicial Review Act (“VJRA”) bars federal district courts from hearing constitutional challenges to statutes that affect veterans’ benefits. Floyd Johnson seeks to challenge the constitutionality of a federal law that caps veterans benefits for incarcerated veterans. Johnson argues that the VJRA’s text does not expressly nor impliedly preclude district court review of constitutional questions. The Government responds that the VJRA expressly requires constitutional claims to proceed through the administrative review process and argues that the implied preclusion factors support this conclusion. The outcome of this case raises important questions about the adequacy of administrative review and the separation of powers.
Whether the Veterans’ Judicial Review Act stripped district courts of the jurisdiction, recognized by this court in Johnson v. Robison, to hear challenges to the constitutionality of acts of Congress affecting veterans’ benefits.
In 2013, Petitioner Floyd Johnson was convicted of several felonies in Florida state court and then sentenced to forty years in prison. Johnson v.
The authors would like to thank Professor Michael C. Dorf for his insights into this case.
● Linda Hersey, Incarcerated veteran’s challenge to keep disability benefits heads to Supreme Court, Stars & Stripes (June 17, 2026).
● Nick Mordowanec, Supreme Court to Rule Whether Veterans can Bypass VA to Secure Benefits, Military.com (June 19, 2026).
● Andrew Rice, U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear veterans’ benefit challenge, The Center Square (April 6, 2026).
● Justin Wise, Justices to Consider Path for Veteran’s Challenge of VA Benefits, Bloomberg Law (April 6, 2026).
