Justices cast doubt on Texas immunity claim in vet’s lawsuit

By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is casting doubt on Texas’ claim that it can’t be sued by a former state trooper who says he was forced out of his job when he returned from Army service in Iraq. The justices heard arguments in a dispute over a federal law that was enacted in 1994 in the wake of the Persian Gulf war to strengthen job protections for returning service members. Over 90 minutes, the justices discussed the Vietnam War, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Alexander Hamilton and even Hamilton, the musical, as they tried to sort through whether states are shielded from lawsuits filed by veterans who complain that their jobs were not protected, in violation of the federal law.