Law Commons^™

Supported Decision-Making And Merciful Health Care Access: Respecting Autonomy At End Of Life For Individuals With Cognitive Disabilities, Brenna M. Rosen

Washington and Lee Law Review

Supported decision-making is a relatively new, powerful, and quickly developing alternative to restrictive guardianships and other draconian surrogate decision-making arrangements for individuals with cognitive disabilities. Its power lies specifically in the protection and affirmation of their autonomy, allowing these individuals to remain central in the planning of their lives and affairs. Despite supported decision-making’s theoretical promise, it is often unclear whether and how the model interacts with other legislation presiding over how one may make crucial life choices, such as those at end of life.

This Note attempts to bridge the gap by analyzing how supported decision-making may be a …

Comment: The Project Of Freedom, Alexandra L. Klein

Washington and Lee Law Review

A person’s status may change over time and people should have the right to maximize their autonomy and learn and grow from their experiences. Legal structures must encourage autonomy and growth, rather than producing a static environment that prevents people from challenging external controls imposed upon their lives. Law can create legal structures that sustain an individual’s right to live according to their values. As Ms. Rosen writes, “[i]f an individual is capable of valuing, the wishes stemming from those values should dictate how the individual ought to be treated.” By protecting those values, Ms. Rosen’s Note advises us how …

Comment: Further Consideration On The Relationship Between The Americans With Disabilities Act, Supported Decision-Making, And Medical Aid In Dying, Amitai Heller

Washington and Lee Law Review

As Ms. Rosen’s Note explains in further detail, the use of supported decision-making creates an opportunity for persons with cognitive impairments to participate more fully in their end-of-life care. While this Comment focuses on the legal requirement for healthcare providers to serve people with cognitive impairments at the end of life, the tenets of patient autonomy, self-determination, and the dignity of risk must be integrated into end-of-life practice to provide guidance where legal requirements are absent or ambiguous. The use of the supported decision-making model in end-of-life care will only succeed when healthcare providers participate in an open-minded manner. It …

Abortion Rights And Disability Equality: A New Constitutional Battleground, Allison M. Whelan, Michele Goodwin

Washington and Lee Law Review

Abortion rights and access are under siege in the United States. Even while current state-level attacks take on a newly aggressive scale and scope—emboldened by the United States Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey—the legal landscape emerging in the wake of Dobbs is decades in the making. In this Article, we analyze the pre- and post-Roe landscapes, explaining that after the Supreme Court recognized a right to abortion in Roe in 1973, anti-abortionists sought to dismantle that right, first …

The Future Of Testamentary Capacity, Reid Kress Weisbord, David Horton

Washington and Lee Law Review

Recently, the #FreeBritney saga cast a harsh spotlight on state guardianship systems. Yet despite their serious flaws, guardianship regimes have benefited from waves of reform. Indeed, since the 1970s, most jurisdictions have taken steps to protect the autonomy of people with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities (CIDD). Likewise, lawmakers are currently experimenting with supported decision-making (SDM): an alternative to guardianship designed to help individuals with CIDD make their own choices. These changes are no panacea, but they have modernized a field that once summarily denied “idiots” and “lunatics” power over their affairs.

However, in a related context, the legal system’s …

Rationing And Disability: The Civil Rights And Wrongs Of State Triage Protocols, Deborah Hellman, Kate M. Nicholson

Washington and Lee Law Review

The COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented natural disasters of 2020 remind us of the importance of emergency preparedness. This Article contributes to our legal and ethical readiness by examining state “Crisis Standards of Care,” which are the standards that determine how medical resources are allocated in times of scarcity. The Article identifies a flaw in the policy choice at the heart of the standards: the standards focus on saving as many lives as possible but, in so doing, will predictably disadvantage the ability of people with disabilities and racial minorities to access life-saving care.

To date, scholarly attention has focused …

An Empirical Examination Of Case Outcomes Under The Ada Amendments Act , Stephen F. Befort

Washington and Lee Law Review

Congress enacted the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) in order to override four Supreme Court decisions that had narrowly restricted the scope of those protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and to provide “a national mandate for the elimination of discrimination.” This Article undertakes an empirical examination of the impact of the ADAA on case outcomes. The recent reported cases provide a unique opportunity for such an examination because, with the ADAAA not retroactively applicable to cases pending prior to its effective date, courts have been simultaneously deciding cases under both the pre-amendment and post-amendment standards. This study examines …

Fragmented Lives: Disability Discrimination And The Role Of "Environment-Framing", Ani B. Satz

Washington and Lee Law Review

This Article presents a novel theory that courts undermine the purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by implicitly embracing environment-frames that disfavor disability protections. Courts employ environment-frames at two stages of judicial analysis under the Act: the disability eligibility and remedy stages. In determining whether a plaintiff is in the statutorily protected class, courts typically use a broad environment-frame to assess limitation of a "major life activity." The larger the environment-frame, the more likely a court will view an individual as able to perform a major life activity in some portion of her environment and deny her protected …

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.

In The Land Between Two Maps: Perceived Disabilities, Reasonable Accommodations, And Judicial Battles Over The Ada, Nicholas R. Frazier

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Recapturing The Transformative Potential Of Employment Discrimination Law, Michelle A. Travis

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is There Light At The End Of The Tunnel? Balancing Finality And Accuracy For Federal Black Lung Benefits Awards, Brian L. Hager

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reassignment Under The Americans With Disabilities Act: Reasonable Accommodation, Affirmative Action, Or Both?, Stephen F. Befort, Tracey Holmes Donesky

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Eradicating Discrimination Among Individuals With Disabilities: Parity In Employer-Provided, Long-Term Disability Benefit Plans, Andrea K. Short

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Title Iii Of The Americans With Disabilities Act On Employer-Provided Insurance Plans: Is The Insurance Company Subject To Liability?, Jill L. Schultz

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

What Constitutes A "Disability" Under The Americans With Disabilities Act: Should Courts Consider Mitigating Measures?, Maureen R. Walsh

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Better Off Dead Than Disabled?: Should Courts Recognize A "Wrongful Living" Cause Of Action When Doctors Fail To Honor Patients' Advance Directives?, Adam A. Milani

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

School Discipline And The Handicapped Child

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employment Discrimination And The Visually Impaired, David A. Yuckman

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Sterilization Rights Of Mental Retardates

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.