Disability Law Commons^™

Star Performances: Ed Roberts On The Speaking Circuit, 1983-1995, Scot Danforth

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This article uses historical research methods to explore noted disability rights leader Ed Roberts' performances on the speaker circuit between 1983, when he left his position as director of the California Department of Rehabilitation, and his death in 1995. This article examines how he managed his performed identity, his self as presented on stage, in order to be a disability star. Using his own life story as a poignant example, he narrated an autobiography of how a paralyzed man could live a vigorous, successful, indeed a joyful life. His personal stories communicated his lived experiences of battling discrimination and stereotypes. …

Kicked Out, Kicked Again: The Discharge Review Boards’ Illiberal Application Of Liberal Consideration For Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Jessica Lynn Wherry

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In recent years, the Department of Defense (DoD) has responded to the growing awareness of mental health issues for military servicemembers during and after service. This Article focuses on veterans who have already been discharged from service, and specifically those who have been discharged under other-than-honorable conditions for misconduct that is likely the result of a mental health condition, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, sexual assault, or sexual harassment. Thousands of former servicemembers have been kicked out of the military for misconduct rather than treated for mental health conditions they experienced due to their military service. When …

(Not The) Same Old Story: Invisible Reasons For Rejecting Invisible Wounds, Jessica Lynn Wherry

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Thousands of former military servicemembers have been discharged with other-than-honorable discharges due to misconduct that can be traced to a mental health condition. These veterans may request a post-discharge change to their discharge characterization—known as a “discharge upgrade.” Discharge review boards consider discharge upgrade requests and typically (90-99% of the time) deny the requests. In the past few years, the Department of Defense has issued new policy guidance partly in response to the low grant rate and to specifically address the growing understanding of the relationship between misconduct and mental health conditions for military servicemembers. The policy guidance requires the …

Accessible Websites And Mobile Applications Under The Ada: The Lack Of Legal Guidelines And What This Means For Businesses And Their Customers, Josephine Meyer

Seattle University Law Review Online

No abstract provided.

The Eleventh Circuit Permits Schools To Submit Unfinished Homework In L.J. Ex Rel. N.N.J. V. School Board Of Broward County By Requiring Only "Material" Implementation Of Ieps For Students With Disabilities, Madeline E. Smith

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Implicit Disability Bias Disinterred By Zombie Factors In Social Security Disability Determinations, Frank Griffin

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Caught By The Cat’S Paw, Sandra F. Sperino

BYU Law Review

Federal employment discrimination law is enamored with court-created doctrines with catchy names. A fairly recent addition to the canon is the concept of the “cat’s paw,” formally recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in Staub v. Proctor Hospital. With its name … drawn from a fable, the concept of cat’s paw has taken ground quickly, discussed in hundreds of cases.

The Supreme Court recognized the cat’s paw theory in a case where a hospital fired a worker. The person who made the ultimate decision did not have impermissible bias. However, her decision was influenced by information from two supervisors who …

What Do Nci Data Tell Us About The Characteristics And Outcomes Of Older Adults With Idd?, Valerie J. Bradley, Dorothy Hiersteiner, Henan Li, Alexandra Bonardi, Laura Vegas

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

The number of older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is growing and will continue to expand as the baby boom generation moves into older adulthood. This descriptive analysis provides information on the characteristics and outcomes of a subsample of individuals with IDD aged 55 and over in the 2018-2019 National Core Indicators In Person Survey. Selected findings are compared to characteristics of the general population as measured by the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Findings suggest the older adults with IDD are more isolated, have smaller social networks than their younger peers, and have less access to transportation …

The Origins Of University Centers On Developmental Disabilities: Early Expectations And Legislation, Bryce Fifield, Marvin G. Fifield

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

This article describes the evolution and early expectations of university-based programs to serve people with disabilities. I describe the how the committee that President John F. Kennedy created to make recommendations about how to better serve people with mental retardation suggested university-based programs that would improve the science and provide training to professionals who work with this community. I describe the early legislation and program decisions that were made by stakeholders that created the first generation of University Affiliated Facilities and Programs to serve people with disabilities.

Employment First In A Time Of Pandemic, Julie J. Christensen Phd, Msw

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Opening Editorial: The Origin And Aims Of The Developmental Disabilities Network Journal, Matthew Wappett

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

In this article, I share my experience of going to school and noticing different groups of students. I noticed that students with disabilities were treated differently, but I didn't understand why. Throughout history, people with disabilities have often been treated differently. For hundreds of years, people with disabilities did not live with their families or in their communities. People with disabilities were often forced to live in institutions or workhouses. Institutions were not good places; they were dangerous, unclean, and isolated. People with disabilities were not allowed to live the life they wanted. In the 1960s, many advocates wanted to …

Cover And Acknowledgements, Matthew Wappett

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Protecting The Rights Of People With Disabilities, Elizabeth Pendo

Chapters in Books

One in four Americans — a diverse group of 61 million people — experience some form of disability (Okoro, 2018). On average, people with disabilities experience significant disparities in education, employment, poverty, access to health care, food security, housing, transportation, and exposure to crime and domestic violence (Pendo & Iezzoni, 2019). Intersections with demographic characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, and LGBT status, may intensify certain inequities. For example, women with disability experience greater disparities in income, education, and employment (Nosek, 2016), and members of underserved racial and ethnic groups with disabilities experience greater disparities in health status and access …

Rights And Representation: Media Narratives About Disabled People And Their Service Animals In Canadian Print News, Lana Kerzner, Chelsea Temple Jones, Beth Haller, Arthur Blaser

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

Canadian news coverage is reflecting and shaping an evolution of thought about how we must publicly account for animals’ roles in the disability rights movement. Through a textual analysis of 26 news media articles published between 2012 and 2017, this research demonstrates that the media play a key role in reporting on discrimination, yet media narratives about service animals and their owners too often fail to capture the complexity of policies and laws that govern their lives. In Canada, there is widespread public confusion about the rights of disabled people and their service animals. This incertitude is relevant to both …

See This Empty Cage Now Corrode: The International Human Rights And Comparative Law Implications Of Sexually Violent Predator Laws, Michael L. Perlin, Heather Ellis Cucolo

Articles & Chapters

From every perspective, our sexually violent predator (SVPA) laws are a miserable failure. In this paper, we present a new approach: a turn to international human rights law as a source of rights for the population in question, and a consideration of the matter from the perspective of comparative law.

To briefly summarize, many nations have enacted laws that both mirror and contradict early developments in United States civil commitment jurisprudence. In these nations, though, challenges to community containment and preventive detention laws have been more successful when based upon international human rights law. Also, registry notification is generally far …

Resolving Tensions Between Disability Rights Law And Covid-19 Mask Policies, Elizabeth Pendo, Robert Gatter, Seema Mohapatra

All Faculty Scholarship

As states reopen, an increasing number of state and local officials are requiring people to wear face masks while out of the home. Grocery stores, retail outlets, restaurants and other businesses are also announcing their own mask policies, which may differ from public policies. Public health measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus such as wearing masks have the potential to greatly benefit millions of Americans with disabilities, who are particularly vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19. But certain disabilities may make it difficult or inadvisable to wear a mask.
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/="/">Mask-wearing has become a political flashpoint, putting …

Zambian Disability Policy Stakeholder Perspectives On The Ways That International Initiatives Influence Domestic Disability Policies, Shaun Cleaver, Matthew Hunt, Virginia Bond, Raphael Lencucha

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

Disability has attracted attention in international human rights and development circles and Zambian domestic policy. The purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions of Zambian disability policy stakeholders about the ways that two international initiatives, namely the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are being reflected in domestic policy. We collected data through semi-structured interviews with 22 policy stakeholders (12 disability advocates and 10 policymakers) and analysed these data using thematic analysis. The UNCRPD was perceived to be progressively integrated into Zambian disability policy although insufficiently implemented …

Perfect Adherence Or Material Deviation?: The Eleventh Circuit's Bright Idea In Resolving Individualized Education Plan Implementation Cases, Chelsea Henderson

Mercer Law Review

In 2002, L.J., a child with intellectual disabilities and autism, began using an individualized education plan (IEP). This IEP was meant to provide L.J. with the free appropriate public education (FAPE) that is guaranteed to all children across the United States. However, L.J.'s mother did not believe the School Board of Broward County adequately implemented L.J.'s IEP. L.J.'s mother's concern resulted in an almost twenty-year legal battle between L.J. and the Broward County School Board. This battle finally ended in June 2019, when the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit joined four other circuits in holding that …

The Neglect Of Persons With Severe Brain Injury To The United States: An International Human Rights Analysis, Tamar Ezer, Megan S. Wright, Joseph J. Wright

Articles

Brain injury contributes more to death and disability globally than any other traumatic incident. While the past decade has seen significant medical advances, laws and policies remain stumbling blocks to treatment and care. The quality of life of persons with severe brain injury often declines with unnecessary institutionalization and inadequate access to rehabilitation and assistive technologies. This raises a host of rights violations that are hidden, given that persons with severe brain injury are generally invisible and marginalized. This article highlights the current neglect and experiences of persons with severe brain injury in the United States, analyzing the rights to …