Disability Law Commons^™

The Trouble With Protecting The Vulnerable: Proposals To Prevent Developmentally Disabled Individuals From Giving Involuntary Waivers And False Confessions, Patricia Devoy

Hamline Law Review

abstract

Fixing Disability Courts, D. Randall Frye

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

California Year In Review: 2013 Special Education Alj Decisions, Ruth Colker

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This article reviews 74 special education cases decided by California ALJs between January 1, 2013 and December 11, 2013. The author concludes that the ALJs provided stingy relief even when students prevailed, there was often unsuccessful litigation on behalf of a student following the termination of a consent decree or court order, many of the cases reflected negative attitudes towards the mothers of the student, and school districts often preferred more restrictive placements than the parent/student. Not surprisingly, students faced very unfavorable outcomes when they were not represented by a lawyer.

Florida's Legislation Mandating Suspicionless Drug Testing Of Tanf Beneficiaries: The Constitutionality And Efficacy Of Implementing Drug Testing Requirements On The Welfare Population, Lindsey Lyle

Tennessee Journal of Law & Policy

Luis Lebron is a thirty-five year old who balances his duties as sole caretaker of his four year-old son with pursuing a degree at the University of Central Florida.' To help support himself and his child while in school, Lebron applied to the Florida Department of Children and Families for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits in July 2011. However, Lebron refused to take the drug test" required by a recently passed Florida statute, requiring prospective TANF beneficiaries to undergo drug testing prior to receiving benefits. Lebron insists that he has never used illegal drugs, but refuses to take ...

Statutory Prohibitions On Wrongful Birth Claims & Their Dangerous Effects On Parents, Cailin Harris

Boston College Journal of Law & Social Justice

Wrongful birth claims are negligence actions brought on behalf of children born with disabilities or genetic disorders that were not properly diagnosed before the child’s birth. The plaintiffs, typically the parents of the afflicted child, argue that without the defendant’s negligence, the parents would have had the opportunity to prevent the child’s birth and subsequent condition by choosing to terminate the pregnancy. A number of states have responded to the growing prevalence of wrongful birth claims by enacting legislation that bars plaintiffs from bringing wrongful birth actions. These statutes, however, pose a threat to the parental rights ...

Left Behind With No “Idea”: Children With Disabilities Without Means, Alex J. Hurder

Boston College Journal of Law & Social Justice

This Article examines the changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), which were intended to reconcile the Act with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and the effect those changes have had on the education of children with disabilities. The Article highlights the important role that parents were given in the original IDEA and the procedures set up to protect that role. It then looks at the manner in which the 2004 amendments to the law and certain U.S. Supreme Court cases have undermined the ability of parents to influence the individualized education plan for ...

Summary Of Anderson V. State, Emp’T Sec. Div., 130 Nev. Adv. Op. 32, Ryan Becklean

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court interpreted the meaning of the phrase “within 3 years after the initial period of disability begins” within NRS 612.344 for a worker with a recurring or degenerative condition.

Brief Of Amici Curiae Food Allergy Research & Education, & Council Of Parent Attorneys And Advocates In Support Of Plaintiff-Appellants And Urging Reversal, T.F., A Minor By His Parents And D.F. And T.S.F., On Their Own Behalf V. Fox Chapel Area School District, Marc Charmatz, Caroline Jackson

Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Physical Ability Testing: A Review Of Court Cases 1992-2014, Joseph Westlin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Selecting employees for hire and promotion is one of the most essential functions of an organization. Many companies that have positions which contain a physical component rely on physical ability testing as part of their selection procedure. The establishment of both the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) had a profound impact on the manner in which selection testing may legally be conducted (Gutman, Koppes, & Vodanovich, 2011). The current study sought to analyze court cases involving physical ability testing. Results revealed that pure ability tests did not significantly differ from work sample tests with regard to ...

Do You Believe He Can Fly? Royce White And Reasonable Accommodations Under The Americans With Disabilities Act For Nba Players With Anxiety Disorder And Fear Of Flying, Michael A. Mccann

Pepperdine Law Review

This Article examines the legal ramifications of Royce White, a basketball player with general anxiety disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, playing in the NBA. White's conditions cause him to have a fear of flying, thus making it difficult to play in the NBA. This subject is without precedent in sports law and, because of the unique aspects of an NBA playing career, lacks clear analogy to other employment circumstances. This dispute also illuminates broader legal and policy issues in the relationship between employment and mental illness. This Article argues that White would likely fail in a lawsuit against an ...

A Critical Analysis Of Intellectual Disabilities And End-Of-Life Decision Making, Saritha Farris

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA)

Presently, research suggests the involvement of individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) in making end-of-life (EOL) decisions appears to be minimal (Ellison & Rosielle, 2008).

The reasons for the lack of involvement include but are not limited to communication challenges, lack of education on caring for individuals with IDs by the medical community, incorrect assumptions that the individual lacks cognitive capacity to consent, and fear of legal consequences if formal caregivers are accused of not providing enough care. (Wagemans et al., 2010).

These factors then often culminate in the individual with IDs having decisions made for them by someone else, whom they ...

Still Out Of Step: The Sixth Circuit’S Adoption Of A “But-For” Standard For Ada Plaintiffs In Lewis V. Humboldt Acquisition Corp., Allison J. Zimmon

Boston College Journal of Law & Social Justice

On May 25, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, sitting en banc, reversed seventeen years of precedent and joined its sister circuits by discarding the “sole cause” standard for proving discrimination under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). By declining to adopt the “motivating factor” standard used in the majority of the other circuits, and instead adopting a “but-for” standard, the Sixth Circuit’s ADA jurisprudence continues to be an outlier. This Comment argues that the “but-for” standard imposes an unfair burden on vulnerable and disabled employees who are seeking relief from ...

Disability, Development, And Human Rights: A Mandate And Framework For International Financial Institutions, Michael Ashley Stein, Penelope J. S. Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The "Double-Edged" Dilemma: The Eleventh Circuit's Devaluation Of Mental Health Mitigators In Evans V. Secretary, Department Of Corrections, Erik Thompson

Boston College Journal of Law & Social Justice

In Evans v. Secretary, Department of Corrections, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit denied habeas corpus relief to a death row inmate who claimed that ineffective assistance of counsel prejudiced his death sentence hearing. Despite the defense counsel’s omission of evidence suggesting that the inmate suffered from various mental disabilities, the court resolved that such evidence would not have affected the jury’s ultimate recommendation of the death sentence because some of the evidence was stigmatized. This standard creates a burden that is far too great for individuals facing the death penalty and significantly minimizes ...

Painful Disparities, Painful Realities, Amanda C. Pustilnik

Faculty Scholarship

Legal doctrines and decisional norms treat chronic claims pain differently than other kinds of disability or damages claims because of bias and confusion about whether chronic pain is real. This is law’s painful disparity. Now, breakthrough neuroimaging can make pain visible, shedding light on these mysterious ills. Neuroimaging shows these conditions are, as sufferers have known all along, painfully real. This Article is about where law ought to change because of innovations in structural and functional imaging of the brain in pain. It describes cutting-edge scientific developments and the impact they should make on evidence law and disability law ...

Caught In The Cross-Fire: The Psychological And Emotional Impact Of The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (Idea) Upon Teachers Of Children With Disabilities, A Therapeutic Jurisprudence Analysis, Richard Peterson

Pace Law Review

The shortage of special education teachers in the United States, and the adverse consequences flowing from factors related to this condition provide a unique opportunity for scholars to study these issues through interdisciplinary research. Educational scholars have typically focused their research on educational practice and institutional policy. Although this scholarship frequently acknowledges the statutory and regulatory foundations of the IDEA, the literature does not generally adopt a legal framework for research purposes. This is not a criticism of educational scholars. It is merely an observation that opportunities exist to study special education teacher issues in a broader context. This Article ...

Tennessee V. Lane: Winning The Battle, Losing The War?, Michael Forearm, Ossai Miazad

Tennessee Journal of Law & Policy

Mr. Foreman serves as deputy director for legal programs at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law. He is a frequent speaker on civil rights issues and has served as counsel of record for the Lawyer's Committee in several cases before the Supreme Court.

The Policy Implications, Elizabeth Mccallum

Tennessee Journal of Law & Policy

Elizabeth McCallum is a partner at Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White, LLP, in Washington, D.C.

Tennessee's Response To The Supreme Court's Decision, Paul G. Summers, Elizabeth Martin

Tennessee Journal of Law & Policy

Paul G. Summers is the Tennessee Attorney General & Reporter. Elizabeth Martin is an Assistant Tennessee Attorney General.

United State's Legal Strategy, Patricia Millett

Tennessee Journal of Law & Policy

Ms. Millet is an Assistant to the Solicitor General. She is a Harvard Law School graduate.