Disability Law Commons^™

Inadequate Accessibility: Why Uber Should Be A Public Accommodation Under The Americans With Disabilities Act, Elizabeth A. Mapelli

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Accessibility Of Medical Diagnostic Equipment - Implications For People With Disability, Lisa Iezzoni, Elizabeth Pendo

All Faculty Scholarship

Under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has inactivated or rescinded numerous rules and guidelines issued by prior administrations, sometimes attracting considerable public attention in the process. Little noticed, however, was a decision by the DOJ on December 26, 2017, to formally withdraw four Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking related to Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including rulemaking that addressed making medical diagnostic equipment accessible to people with disability. For now, this step halts efforts on a national level to ensure accessibility of such equipment, which includes exam tables, weight …

Who Will Judge The Many When The Game Is Through: Considering The Profound Differences Between Mental Health Courts And Traditional Involuntary Civil Commitment Courts, Michael L. Perlin

Articles & Chapters

This paper is an expansion of a presentation given by the author at the annual Therapeutic Jurisprudence Workshop at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 15, 2016. There is a developing robust literature about mental health courts (MHCrts) in the United States, and researchers have begun to focus on a broad range of empirical issues, such as the extent to which defendants are competent to waive their trial rights in such settings, the significance of diversion, etc. Also, advocates and other scholars have engaged in vigorous debates about the value of these courts, and the extent …

'Your Old Road Is/Rapidly Agin': International Human Rights Standards And Their Impact On Forensic Psychologists, The Practice Of Forensic Psychology, And The Conditions Of Institutionalization Of Persons With Mental Disabilities, Michael L. Perlin

Articles & Chapters

An earlier version of this paper was presented as the Lynn Stuart Weiss lecture at the American Psychological Association yearly conference, sponsored by the American Psychology-Law Society and the American Psychology Foundation, August 2016, Denver, Colorado.

For years, considerations of the relationship between international human rights standards and the work of forensic psychologists have focused on the role of organized psychology in prisoner abuse at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghirab. That issue has been widely discussed and debated, and these discussions show no sign of abating. But there has been virtually no attention given to another issue of international human …

On Desolation Row: The Blurring Of The Borders Between Civil And Criminal Mental Disability Law, And What It Means To All Of Us, Michael L. Perlin, Deborah Dorfman, Naomi Weinstein

Articles & Chapters

One of the great tensions of mental disability law is the unresolved, trompe d’oeil question of whether it is a subset of the civil law, of the criminal law, or something entirely different. The resolution of this question is not an exercise in formalism or pigeonholing, but is critical to an understanding of the future direction of mental disability law, the deeper meaning of US Supreme Court cases and important state legislative initiatives, and the whole array of hidden issues and agendas that lurk under the surface of mental disability law-decision making. As mental disability law has matured, a dual …

She's Nobody's Child/The Law Can't Touch Her At All': Seeking To Bring Dignity To Legal Proceedings Involving Juveniles, Michael L. Perlin, Alison Lynch

Articles & Chapters

Recent Supreme Court decisions declaring unconstitutional both capital punishment (Roper v. Simmons, 2005) and life without parole (Graham v. Florida, 2010) in cases involving juveniles might lead a casual observer to think that we are now in an era in which dignity of juveniles is privileged in the legal system and in which humiliation and shame are subordinated. This observation, sadly, would be wrong.

Inquiries into a range of issues involving juveniles – commitment to psychiatric institutions; trials in juvenile courts; aspects of criminal procedure that, in many jurisdictions, bar juveniles from raising the incompetency status or the insanity defense; …

Depression: The Often Overlooked Sequela Of Head Trauma, Samuel D. Hodge Jr., Jack E. Hubbard

Cleveland State Law Review

Depression is a common sequela of head trauma. Approximately half of all individuals with a cranial injury will experience depression within the first year, regardless of the severity of the injury. The ailment is characterized clinically as a mood disorder, often associated with intense feelings of sadness. However, depression is more complex than mood disorders, as many mental and bodily complaints—such as insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, appetite changes, aches and pains, and lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities—are associated with depression. These intense feelings, particularly when combined with despair and hopelessness, can lead to suicide, a dreaded potential complication of …

Protecting Civilians With Disabilities In Conflicts, Janet E. Lord, Gerard Quinn, Shantha Rau Barriga, Catalina Devandas

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Rectifying The Tilt: Equality Lessons From Religion, Disability, Sexual Orientation, And Transgender, Chai R. Feldblum

Maine Law Review

The joy and the challenge of being located in an academic setting is that I am also able to engage in forays (albeit intermittent forays) into scholarly analysis. Delivering this lecture, and publishing this piece, provides an excellent opportunity for me to engage in such a foray. This piece, then, is a scholarly reflection on my advocacy experiences. My goal is to use my experiences in advocacy as fertile soil from which to create, I hope, a lovely flower of theory and conceptual thought. Before setting out on this endeavor, however, I would like to offer two postulates. There are …

Taking Care Of Business And Protecting Maine's Employees: Supervisor Liability For Employment Discrimination Under The Maine Human Rights Act, Katharine I. Rand

Maine Law Review

On the heels of federal legislation prohibiting employment discrimination most states, including Maine, have enacted their own civil or human rights statutes aimed at eliminating discriminatory behavior in the workplace. Like its federal counterpart, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Maine Human Rights Act, enacted in 1971, prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, or national origin and provides a civil remedy for victims of employment discrimination. Moreover, like Title VII, the question of just who constitutes a liable “employer” under the Maine Human Rights Act has been the …

Hiv And The Ada: What Is A Direct Threat?, Dawn-Marie Harmon

Maine Law Review

Anne, a surgical technician at a local hospital, recently learned that she was HIV-positive. She works in the emergency room and, as a part of her job, she hands surgical instruments to doctors performing emergency surgery. It is a fast paced and unpredictable environment. Her hands often come in contact with sharp instruments. Although Anne has never put her hands into a patient's body cavity, there is a remote possibility that she may need to do so in the future. There is always a possibility, however small, that she will cut herself and come into blood-to-blood contact with a doctor …

Disability, Universalism, Social Rights, And Citizenship, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Meaningful Access And Disability Discrimination: The Role Of Social Science And Other Empirical Evidence, Mark C. Weber

Cardozo Law Review

In cases alleging disability discrimination in the provision of state and local government services, courts frequently hold that plaintiffs' claims depend on the question whether, despite the disadvantage that government actions impose, the plaintiffs nevertheless receive meaningful access to the government services. Whether people with disabilities actually have meaningful access is in reality a factual question, one on which social science and other empirically supported facts should matter. But courts frequently ignore evidence about the nature and level of access that people with disabilities have to government programs when decisions regarding those programs are being challenged. This Article catalogues judicial …

Caring For Humanity: Non-Profit Elderly Law, Sierra Samp

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This Capstone was an internship that focused on care in Humanity at Legal Services for Seniors. There is a journal that includes the observations of care in the law office. I focus on how attorneys care for each clients humanness while they are working on their cases. Attorneys may be doing work that can be quite intimidating, but the care they give is quite extraordinary.

Disability, Universalism, Social Rights, And Citizenship, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Articles

The 2016 election has had significant consequences for American social welfare policy. Some of these consequences are direct. By giving unified control of the federal government to the Republican Party for the first time in a decade, the election has potentially empowered conservatives to ram through a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act—the landmark “Obamacare” law that marked the most significant expansion of the social welfare state since the 1960s. Other consequences are more indirect. Both the election result itself, and Republicans’ actions since, have spurred a renewed debate within the left-liberal coalition regarding the politics of social welfare …

Regarding Age As A Disability: Conceptualizing Age Discrimination At Work As (Mis)Perception Of Disability Discrimination, Kevin M. Cremin

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Making Accessible Futures: From The Capitol Crawl To #Cripthevote, Faye Ginsburg, Rayna Rapp

Cardozo Law Review

The article examines the evolving recognition and integration of disability rights in American society, emphasizing the transformative impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the cultural shift towards inclusivity. It highlights the growing demographic presence of individuals with disabilities, the role of activism, and the importance of inclusive design and representation in media and politics. The authors argue that while significant progress has been made, ongoing advocacy is crucial to address persistent challenges and ensure the full recognition of disability as a valued aspect of human diversity.

An Americans With Disabilities Act For Everyone, And For The Ages As Well, Anita Silvers, Leslie P. Francis

Cardozo Law Review

The article argues that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was originally intended to universally protect individuals from disability-based discrimination, rather than focusing on categorizing who is disabled. The authors contend that the ADA should be interpreted to prevent discrimination based on disability for everyone, regardless of specific eligibility criteria, and that the statute's effectiveness has been undermined by court decisions that emphasize categorical limitations. They advocate for a broader, more inclusive understanding of the ADA, aligned with its original purpose of combating discrimination.

Educational Equality For Children With Disabilities: The 2016 Term Cases, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Book Chapters

One of the most longstanding debates in educational policy pits the goal of equality against the goal of adequacy: Should we aim to guarantee that all children receive an equal education? Or simply that they all receive an adequate education? The debate is vexing in part because there are many ways to specify “equality” and “adequacy.” Are we talking about equality of inputs (which inputs?), equality of opportunity (to achieve what?), or equality of results (which results?)? Douglas Rae and his colleagues famously argued that there are no fewer than 108 structurally distinct conceptions of equality. And how do we …

Human Rights And Disability, Lowell Ewert

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

In every context where racism, poverty, inequality, religious intolerance, or any other form of exploitation is present, persons with disabilities within the category experiencing discrimination are almost always worse off than their non-disabled peers. In this way, disability has the practical impact of magnifying discrimination and multiplying harmful practices. There is even evidence in some places that persons with disabilities have been deliberately targeted with violence. Additionally, sexual violence against disabled women and girls can be especially cruel.

Efforts to combat discriminatory practices that are primarily focused on addressing the concerns of the able-bodied often further exacerbate the general indifference …