Disability Law Commons^™

Keynote Address: Expanding Human Rights To Persons With Disabilities: Laying The Groundwork For A Twenty-First Century Movement, Yanghee Lee

Washington International Law Journal

Dr. Lee’s keynote speech provides a brief history of disability rights as provided for by international human rights treaties. The speech focuses in particular on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (“CRC”) and the recently enacted Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“CRPD”). The CRC was the first treaty to include a specific provision dealing with the rights of children with disabilities. In this speech, Dr. Lee takes the position that although the CRPD does not create new rights for persons with disabilities, it still represents an important step forward. Dr. Lee emphasizes that the CRPD establishes …

Mining The Intersections: Advancing The Rights Of Women And Children With Disabilities Within An Interrelated Web Of Human Rights, Rangita De Silva De Alwis

Washington International Law Journal

This article argues that disability rights are a powerful lens through which to address the multiple forms of discrimination and subordination that women and children with disabilities face. A shift in the human rights paradigm that enables the different human rights treaties affecting women and children with disabilities to be implemented together, within an interlocking web of the human rights framework, will provide the necessary safeguards against multiple and cross cutting forms of discrimination against women and children with disabilities. At the same time, different social movements must come together at these points of intersection in order to create a …

Systemic Compliance Complaints: Making Idea's Enforcement Provisions A Reality, Monica Costello

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Since the passage of what is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA") in 1975, this country has recognized the importance of providing appropriate educational services to students with disabilities. When a school district fails to provide these services, an organization can file a compliance complaint with the state's designated education agency to investigate the violation. This Note uses California as a case study and argues that state education agencies should be required to investigate systemic violations, even when the names of affected students are not provided. To effectively protect the rights of students with disabilities and …

The Domestic Incorporation Of Human Rights Law And The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities, Janet E. Lord, Michael Ashley Stein

Washington Law Review

This Article reviews the processes by which domestic-level transposition of international human rights norms may occur as a consequence of human rights treaty ratification, or other means of incorporation. Specifically, we consider the transformative vision of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD or Convention) as a vehicle for fostering national-level disability law and policy changes. In doing so, we outline the challenges and opportunities presented by this new phase in disability rights advocacy, and we draw conclusions that bear generally upon human rights practice and scholarship. We contend that the role of human rights in domestic …

Disability, Vulnerability, And The Limits Of Antidiscrimination, Ani B. Satz

Washington Law Review

Despite the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), disabled Americans face substantial barriers to entry into the workplace, lack material supports including health care and transportation, and may not receive reasonable accommodation that best supports their functioning. In addition, individuals with impairments have difficulty qualifying as disabled for disability protections. In light of these problems, some commentators suggest that a civil rights or antidiscrimination approach to disability discrimination—an approach for which activists fought for twenty years prior to the enactment of the ADA—may not adequately address disability discrimination. Some critics advocate a return to the social …

Making Good On The Promise Of International Law: The Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities And Inclusive Education In China And India, Vanessa Torres Hernandez

Washington International Law Journal

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities conceptualizes disability as a human rights issue and requires state parties to provide an inclusive education to all children with disabilities. However, China and India, the two most populous signatory countries, do not currently provide inclusive education—described by the Convention as nondiscriminatory access to general education, reasonable accommodation of disability, and individualized supports designed to fulfill the potential of individual children with disabilities. Though both India and China have laws that encourage the education of children with disabilities, neither country’s laws mandate inclusive education and neither country currently provides universal education …

Applying The Americans With Disabilities Act To Private Websites After National Federation Of The Blind V. Target, Jeffrey Bashaw

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California recently held that websites which are tightly integrated with a physical store must be accessible to the blind, or risk running afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The court in this case, National Federation of the Blind v. Target (“Target”), declined to grant summary judgment for Target, a retailer which operates both physical stores and an e-commerce website, in a suit alleging that Target’s website, Target.com, was discriminating against the blind. This Article will describe the narrow application of Target, which found that websites which are …

Courts Must Welcome The Reality Of The Modem World: Cyberspace Is A Place Under Title Iii Of The Americans With Disabilities Act, Shani Else

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employment & Disability Law—Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990—The Weight Of Personal Responsibility: Obesity, Causation, And Protected Physical Impairments, Matthew Glover

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

On July 26, 1990, Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which became effective two years later. Because the ADA lacked a list of all the disabilities it covered, courts have considered obesity and morbid obesity to be disabilities in some cases but not in others, notwithstanding the legislation’s desire for clarity and consistency in eliminating discrimination against the individuals with disabilities.

There seems to be a trend towards presuming that obesity is a matter of personal responsibility rather than a protected disability. The most recent developments in obesity jurisprudence have held that morbid obesity—absent evidence of physiological causation—was …

Trying To Protect Elderly And Mentally Incompetent Homeowners: One Tax Deed Case At A Time., Daniel Koen

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

The Americans With Disabilities Act And Internet Accessibility For The Blind, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 543 (2008), Katherine Rengel

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This comment analyzes the current debate over Internet accessibility for the blind. The author proposes an amendment to the ADA which would require that all Web sites make reasonable accommodations so they are accessible to the visually impaired. The amendment would comply with the purpose of the ADA, and promote the public policy of equal access to all. Finally, the author concludes that, given the Internet’s prevalence in today’s society, an amendment to the ADA is essential to promote equality and bring the ADA into the Internet age.

Independent Protection And Advocacy: Th E Role Of Counsel In Institutional Settings, Karen O. Talley

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

“Equality, I Spoke Th At Word/As If A Wedding Vow”: Mental Disability Law And How We Treat Marginalized Persons, Michael J. Perlin, John Douard

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Involuntary Outpatient Commitment: Some Th Oughts On Promoting A Meaningful Dialogue Between Mental Health Advocates And Lawmakers, Henry A. Dlugacz

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Drunk Or Disabled - The Legal And Social Consequences Of Roy Tarpley's Discrimination Claim Against The Nba, Robin L. Muir

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

What Happened To "Paul's Law"?: Insights On Advocating For Better Training And Better Outcomes In Encounters Between Law Enforcement And Persons With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Elizabeth Harvey Osborn

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Charter Schools And Special Education: Part Of The Solution Or Part Of The Problem?, Rebekah Gleason

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)1 provides each child with a disability the opportunity to receive educational benefit in an appropriate program. The individual needs of the child drive the often resource intensive programs. On the other hand, public charter schools focus on providing more choices for education by aiming to do a better job with less money. Public Charter Schools accountability for progress and fiscal responsibility means that schools focus on doing more with less resources for the school as a whole. Public Charter schools' mission of unique innovative instruction, free from local and state regulations that would …

The Mythic 43 Million Americans With Disabilities, Ruth Colker

William & Mary Law Review

Although Congress stated in its first statutory finding that it intended the Americans with DisabilitiesA ct (ADA) to protect at least 43 million Americans from disability discrimination, the Supreme Court has interpreted this statute so that it covers no more than 13.5 million Americans. More importantly, this Article demonstrates through the use of Census Bureau data that the ADA's employment discrimination provisions have been eviscerated to the point that the ADA protects virtually no Americans who are both disabled and able to work. This Article places that problem in the larger context of the Court undermining Congress's efforts to protect …

Olmstead V. L.C.-Deinstitutionalization And Community Integration: An Awakening Of The Nation's Conscience?, Samantha A. Dipolito

Mercer Law Review

Olmstead v. L.C. is a landmark case that originated in Georgia and has been lauded as the Brown v. Board of Education for the law of disability discrimination. In June 1999 the United States Supreme Court decided Olmstead v. L.C., holding that it is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") for states to discriminate against people with disabilities by confining them to institutions when such individuals could live more appropriately in a community-based setting. Yet, nearly eight years after the Olmstead decision and fourteen years after the passage of the ADA, progress in implementing the …

Hedonic Damages, Hedonic Adaptation, And Disability, Samuel R. Bagenstos, Margo Schlanger

Vanderbilt Law Review

Over the past quarter century, the concept of "adaptive preferences" has played an important role in debates in law, economics, and political philosophy. As Professor Jon Elster has described this psychological phenomenon, "people tend to adjust their aspirations to their possibilities." A number of prominent scholars have argued that the existence of adaptive preferences "raises serious problems for neoclassical economics and for unambivalent enthusiasm for freedom of choice." Because our current preferences are constrained by the opportunities available to us, proponents of adaptive preference theory contend, those preferences may not be the best guide to what is in our interests; …

Yes, There Is A Duty To Accommodate Someone "Regarded As" Disabled Under The Ada, Marsha R. Peterson

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Involuntary Commitment Of People With Mental Retardation: Ensuring All Of Georgia's Citizens Receive Adequate Procedural Due Process, Laura W. Harper

Mercer Law Review

In the state of Georgia there are approximately three thousand citizens who are confined to segregated living institutions because of their disabilities. Many of these individuals are placed in institutions involuntarily through legal proceedings. Some of these individuals have mental retardation, a condition that occurs during a person's development and results in below normal intellectual functioning. Many disability advocates argue that segregation and institutionalization of people with mental retardation is not needed, although all do not agree. Despite strong advocacy for the rights of people with disabilities, many continue to be institutionalized, often because their families can find no other …

Reasonably Accommodating The Able Employee Who Is Disabled By Misperception: The Ada's "Regarded As" Prong Gone Awry?, Selma Shelton

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Angling For A Fair Standard: A Recommendation For A Narrowly Tailored Non-Profit Exemption To The Closed Captioning Requirements, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 165 (2007), Joshua Pila

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

In late 2006, the FCC’s Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau (“CGB”) issued the Anglers Order, providing a wholesale exemption for non-profit entities seeking to avoid the strictures of the Commission’s closed captioning rules. Disability advocates quickly criticized the Anglers Order on administrative law and communications law grounds. This paper avoids administrative law and communications law issues, but instead criticizes the Anglers Order on non-profit law and policy grounds. The paper then recommends and supports a post-application, narrowly-tailored financial test, automatically exempting A) non-profit organizations, with B) less than $25,000 in annual revenue, who C) receive no financial compensation for airing …

The Un Disability Convention: Historic Process, Strong Prospects, And Why The U.S. Should Ratify, Tara J. Melish

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Equal Access To Post-Secondary Education: The Sisyphean Impact Of Flagging Test Scores Of Persons With Disabilities , Helia Garrido Hull

Cleveland State Law Review

In view of the social stigma associated with disabilities, and the inherent costs of providing accommodations to disabled students, the opportunity for bias within the admissions selection process is clear. As a result, the practice of flagging standardized tests has come under increasing scrutiny. The practice of distinguishing test takers having a disability from those who do not runs counter to the social policy of inclusion, and prevents disabled individuals from enjoying the benefits of equal citizenship. Part II of this paper provides a brief overview of the prejudice disabled individuals have endured throughout history, and discusses some early movements …

An Analysis Of The Development And Adoption Of The United Nations Convention Recognizing The Rights Of Individuals With Disabilities: Why The United States Refuses To Sign This Un Convention, Tracy R. Justesen, Troy R. Justesen

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

The Disabled Ada: How A Narrowing Ada Threatens To Exclude The Cognitively Disabled, Nathan Catchpole, Aaron Miller

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

(Whatever Happended To) The Ada's "Record Of" Prong(?), Alex B. Long

Washington Law Review

Of the three prongs in the Americans with Disabilities Act's (ADA) definition of disability, the "record of" prong is far less likely to be used by ADA plaintiffs in claiming protection under the Act than are the actual disability and "regarded as" prongs. Between the years 2000 and 2005, ADA and Rehabilitation Act plaintiffs who alleged employment discrimination in federal court relied upon the "record of" prong less than one-third as often as either the actual and "regarded as" prongs in claiming disability status. When they did rely on the "record of" prong, ADA plaintiffs did not enjoy any greater …

Mending A Monumental Mountain: Resolving Two Critical Circuit Splits Under The Americans With Disabilities Act For The Sake Of Logic, Unity, And The Mentally Disabled, Matthew M. Cannon

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.