Allen W. Hicks v. Veterans Administration

HANSEN, Circuit Judge.

Allen Hicks claims his Veterans Administration (VA) disability benefits were reduced because he exercised his First Amendment rights. The district court entered judgment in favor of Hicks on his constitutional retaliation claim. We reverse because the district court had no jurisdiction to hear Hicks’ case.

From 1971 until 1989, Hicks’ total disability rating was 100% based upon his schizophrenia and degenerative disk disease. On August 17, 1988, Dr. Elisabeth Small, Chief of Psychiatry Services at the Reno, Nevada VA hospital where Hicks was a patient, wrote a letter to…