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DISABILITY LAW NEWS & VIEWS
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May 2008
FLORIDA
Man defends suits for disabled access
By
Jane Musgrave The Associated Press
5-15-08 --
Do not let the wheelchair fool you. Allen Fox is a one-man
demolition crew. . . . Just ask the nearly 140 targets of his
wrath. With rare exception, they have been forced to spend
thousands of dollars to rip out, tear down, rebuild or renovate
their businesses after the 65-year-old suburban West Palm Beach
man kicked about barriers that made it difficult, if not
impossible, for him to get inside. . . . "He's a maverick," said
attorney Samuel Aurilio, who has been Fox's all-important
sidekick in his crusade to get businesses to comply with the
Americans With Disabilities Act. . . . Others who have sparred
with Fox use far less generous terms to describe him. . . .
"He's what we like to call a professional plaintiff," says
attorney Joe Fields, who has represented many of the business
owners, and views Fox's activities as more of a shakedown than a
humanitarian campaign. . . . After six years and 139 lawsuits,
Fox is not surprised -- or dismayed -- by such assertions. . . .
"I have no problem being accused of being a professional
whatever," said Fox, whose childhood polio returned to put him
in a wheelchair about 10 years ago. "I do this because I don't
want the disabled people who come after me to go through what
I've had to go through."
MICHIGAN
Wheelchair user alleges bias in suit against airport authority,
carrier
By
Lisa Roose-Church • Daily Press & Argus
5-12-08 --
A Pinckney resident is one of five Detroit-area residents suing
Northwest Airlines Corp. and the Wayne County Airport Authority
for alleged discrimination against disabled fliers. . . .
According to a 29-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court,
James Keskeny of Pinckney, who uses a wheelchair because of
multiple sclerosis, alleges he has been physically transported
in a "degrading manner" by untrained airport personnel. . . .
Keskeny, who has flown on Northwest for business and vacations,
alleges he was tilted parallel to the floor as he was wheeled
down the aisle of a plane by airport personnel and that airline
employees broke his wheelchair while handling it. . . . Keskeny
said a lot of his trips were frustrating in a number of
different ways, including long waits to get in and out of the
restroom, or to get off the plane, or not having proper access
for wheelchair storage.

March 2008
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
Supreme Court Hears Case Involving Mentally Ill Defendants
Representing Themselves
Tony
Mauro, Legal Times
03-27-08 --
When mentally ill defendants are found competent to stand trial,
does that also mean they are competent enough to represent
themselves in court? . . . The Supreme Court struggled with that
question Wednesday
during an oral argument that weighed the Sixth Amendment right to
self-representation against a state's interest in not having trials
"descend into farce." Along the way, some lawyer jokes were
also cracked. . . . The issue in the case Indiana v. Edwards is
whether a state may impose a higher standard of competence for
self-representation than the fairly minimal test for deciding if a
defendant is competent to stand trial. The Indiana Supreme Court
ruled that Ahmad Edwards, diagnosed as a schizophrenic, was denied
his right to represent himself at a 2005 trial for a department
store robbery and shooting. . . . The trial judge had determined
that while Edwards met the standard for competence to stand trial --
he understood the proceedings and could assist his lawyer -- he did
not have the additional competence to represent himself. . . .
Indiana, backed by the Justice Department, argue that in the
interest of protecting both the reality and appearance of fairness
and dignity of the courts, states should be allowed to set higher
standards for self-representation. . . . "If the public sees the
spectacle of a mentally ill defendant ... attempt to communicate to
the jury on his own in a very delusional way, it really casts the
justice system into disrepute," Deputy U.S. Solicitor General
Michael Dreeben told the justices.
GEORGIA
Government Concedes Vaccines May Have Injured Ga. Girl; Impact
on Autism Claims Unclear
Marilynn Marchione, The Associated Press
03-07-08 --
Government health officials have conceded that childhood
vaccines worsened a rare, underlying disorder that ultimately
led to autism-like symptoms in a Georgia girl, and that she
should be paid from a federal vaccine injury fund. . . . Medical
and legal experts say the narrow wording and circumstances
probably make the case an exception -- not a precedent for
thousands of other pending claims. . . . The
government "has not conceded that vaccines cause autism," said
Linda Renzi, the lawyer representing federal officials, who have
consistently maintained that childhood shots are safe. . . .
However, parents and advocates for autistic children see the
case as a victory that may help certain others. Although the
science on this is very limited, the girl's disorder may be more
common in autistic children than in healthy ones. . . . "It's a
beginning," said Kevin Conway, a Boston lawyer representing more
than 1,200 families with vaccine injury claims. "Each case is
going to have to be proved on its individual merits. But it
shows to me that the government has conceded that it's
biologically plausible for a vaccine to cause these injuries.
They've never done it before."
NEW YORK
East Meadow bars boy's service dog despite order
By
Carl Macgowan
03-07-08
-- Despite a state order
in his favor, a hearing-impaired Westbury teenager was barred
Tuesday morning from bringing his service dog to school. . . .
John Cave, 15, his mother, his twin
sister and a family attorney were met at the entrance of W.
Tresper Clarke High Scool in East Meadow by principal Timothy Voels, who refused to allow the dog inside the
school. The Caves and attorney Paul Margiotta then left, and
John Cave did not return to school. .
. . "I don't think they know what they're doing," John Cave said of school district
officials, who have said the dog, Simba, poses a safety threat
to other students. "I think they're going to be in big trouble
with the state." . . . The incident was the latest salvo in a
year-long battle between the Cave family and the East Meadow
School District over John Cave's desire to bring Simba to class.
IDAHO
Ammon Elementary Student Invents 'Diabetic Dress'
Reporter: Kristi Henderson
03-07-08 --
An 11-year-old Ammon Elementary
student turned a school project into a mission to help her
little sister live a more normal life. . . . Kailey Caldwell
designed a diabetic dress and recently placed third in the
Invention Convention in Boise. . . . Whitlee Caldwell is just
like any other 5-year-old, enjoying reading a story with her mom
and big sister. . . . But a year ago, Whitlee was diagnosed with
Type 1 Diabetes. She now uses an insulin pump, and for a little
girl, the device came with a major drawback. . . . Kailey
Caldwell, Diabetic Dress Inventor: "They have a little belt with
a pack on them that you can wear with skirts and pants, but when
you try and wear them with a dress it makes a bulge and it
doesn't feel very comfortable and you still have to lift your
dress up to give yourself insulin."

February 2008
NEW
JERSEY
Class Action Seeking Insurance for Eating Disorders Can Go
Forward
Henry Gottlieb, New Jersey Law Journal
02-29-08 --In
a case being watched by advocates for patients with anorexia and
bulimia, a federal judge in Newark, N.J., has ruled that class
action lawyers can pursue an attempt to compel Aetna Inc. to
improve benefits for eating disorder victims. . . . U.S.
District Judge Faith Hochberg on Wednesday denied a dismissal
motion, in which the insurer argued the coverage dispute should
be decided by state regulators or by its own internal review
process on a case-by-case basis. . .. It wasn't totally bad
news for Aetna. Hochberg dismissed the plaintiffs' state-law
claims. ERISA, the federal benefits act, will govern the case,
which means the plaintiffs aren't entitled to punitive damages
or a jury trial. . . . The ruling, in De Vito v. Aetna Inc.,
07-0418, is likely to serve as a guide in a similar
case against Horizon Blue Cross of New Jersey that is
also before Hochberg.
NORTH
CAROLINA
Drawing the Line: Treatment or Prison
By
NC WANTED Staff
02-27-08 --
Every day, judges send mentally
ill people to prison for crimes they committed without taking
their medication or visiting mental health professionals on a
regular basis. . . . Lawmakers and the criminal justice system
in North Carolina are struggling to address this complicated
problem in a political climate that lends little priority to
mental health issues. . . . As some of the state’s most
vulnerable people have fallen through the cracks of society and
had difficulty getting the treatment they need, many have found
themselves in trouble with the law. . . . State-run mental
hospitals have more admissions than ever, and
North Carolina’s overcrowded prisons and jails have become treatment centers by
default. When a person with mental illness is arrested for a
crime, law enforcement officers aren't always prepared to deal
with a mentally unstable person. The mentally ill person moves
through the system along with criminals considered lucid and
sane. . . . “What has happened systemically and throughout our
country is our jails are getting full of people with mental
illnesses and we’re spending a lot of corrections money on them
and they’re not getting any better because that’s not where they
belong,” said Debbie Dihoff, director of
North Carolina’s chapter of the
National Alliance on Mental Illness. “They belong in treatment
facilities.”
FLORIDA
Hillsborough wheelchair incident now focus of Attorney General
Reported by: Cary Williams
02-15-08 --
An incident involving a man dumped from his wheelchair by a
Hillsborough County deputy now has the attention of Florida
Attorney General Bill McCollum. . . . McCollum says he
is "appalled" and has forwarded evidence to his Office of Civil
Rights for immediate review. He has asked the Director of the
Office to take appropriate action. . . . If his office finds
deputies violated Brian Sterner's civil rights, it could sue on
his behalf for up to $10,000 per infraction. . . . Sterner, who
is a quadriplegic but still able to drive, was arrested in
January for fleeing and alluding law enforcement. During the
course of his paperwork at the jail, a video camera clearly
captures a Sheriff's employee dumping Sterner out of his
wheelchair onto the floor and searching him. . . . The Sheriff's
Department has suspended the deputy, a 22 year veteran, without
pay. Two corporals and one sergeant are suspended with pay. . .
. The incident has drawn national attention.

The American with Disabilities Act has made it possible
for more people to be out in the world: working,
shopping, eating in restaurants, getting to and from the
doctor’s office and more.
In spite of
the positive strides made through the Disabilities Act,
Congress has
allowed a huge chunk of the population fall through the
cracks – rendering them defenseless against workplace
discrimination.
Take Action >>
There are 20.8 million children and adults in the United
States, or 7 percent of the population, who have
diabetes.
Unfortunately, courts have been throwing out diabetes
discrimination cases because of an absurd Catch 22,
siding with employers who claim that
a person with
diabetes is "too disabled" to do the job, but not
"disabled enough" to be protected by the laws!
It’s clear Congress intended to protect people with
diabetes and other chronic diseases from discrimination
when they passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in
1990.
Tell the Senate to Support "The Americans with
Disabilities Restoration Act" today >>
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Breeana L.
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team |
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January 2008
FEDERAL
COURTS
4th Circuit Delivers FedEx a Loss in Disability Case
Court: Sufficient evidence for
jury to find managers 'had acted reprehensibly' regarding
worker's need for ADA accommodations
Brendan Smith, Legal Times
01-25-08 --The
4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has
affirmed a jury award of $100,000 in punitive damages against
FedEx. for discriminating against a former package
handler who is deaf. In a unanimous ruling Wednesday, the court
affirmed both the punitive damages and $8,000 in compensatory
damages for Ronald Lockhart, who is fluent in American Sign
Language but cannot speak or read lips. . . . From 2000 to 2003,
Lockhart worked part time as a package handler at FedEx's
Baltimore-Washington International Airport facility
while he was attending the University of
Maryland. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed the suit on
Lockhart's behalf, found in July 2002 that FedEx had violated
the Americans with Disabilities Act by repeatedly refusing to
provide a sign-language interpreter and other accommodations for
Lockhart during employee meetings and trainings, including
briefings after Sept. 11 about security issues including
potential anthrax exposure, the ruling states.
Urge
Your Representative to Attend January 29th ADA Restoration
Hearing
January 23, 2008--Next Tuesday,
January 29th at 9:30am, the full House
Education and Labor Committee
will hold a hearing on the ADA Restoration Act (H.R. 3195). All
members need to hear the powerful testimony. If your
Representative is a member of the committee (see list below),
please call and urge him or her to attend the hearing in 2175
Rayburn House Office Building. And if you can, try to attend
yourself. . . . Please tell your Representative that restoring
Congress' original intent for the Americans with Disabilities
Act is necessary to create an equal playing field for people
with disabilities and stop disability discrimination in the
workplace and elsewhere. See the
Bazelon Center's July 23, 2007 Action Alert for more
information about H.R. 3195. For additional background, visit
the
Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities Rights Task Force
and the National Council on Independent Living's
ADA Restoration Action Hub.
ILLINOIS
Legal clinic for blind's vision: justice for all
Veteran jurist helps the visually
impaired with legal troubles. His insight? He's blind too.
By
Bonnie Miller Rubin | Tribune reporter
01-16-08 --
Courthouse regulars might recognize Nicholas Pomaro from his
almost 30 years on the bench, where he handed down thousands of
rulings. . . . But the judge's greatest decision came after he
retired from the Cook County Circuit Court in 2005. That's when
Pomaro launched what is thought be the only legal clinic for the
blind in the country. . . . "It turned out to be the best thing
I've ever done," he said about the clinic, which just marked its
250th case. "People are just so grateful for even the smallest
bit of assistance ... it's really rewarding to be able to help."
. . . Pomaro, 70, has a special affinity for this clientele
because he is blind himself -- and doesn't have much tolerance
for obstacles, intentional or not.
FLORIDA
|

Victoria Sando (BSO / 1-9-08) |
Paralyzed gunshot victim jailed by judge
By Mike
Clary | Sun-Sentinel.com
Victoria Sando, a paralyzed gunshot
victim, remained in the Broward County jail for the 13th day
Wednesday despite a flurry of legal wrangling between the state and
lawyers for the county Public Defender's office who
argue that her incarceration for criminal contempt is unlawful. . .
. "She's holding up. Anxious, but holding up," said chief assistant
public defender Steve Michaelson, who said he talks to Sando several
times a day. . . . Skirmishing over the fate of the 55-year-old
Dania Beach woman is taking place before the 4th District Court of
Appeal. . . . Sando, who is self-sufficient with the aid of a
motorized wheelchair and a service dog, Fudge, was ordered jailed by
Circuit Court Judge Marina Garcia-Wood after she failed to show up
for a Dec. 11 hearing on a domestic abuse complaint. . . . In a writ
filed last week, the public defender argued that the judge violated
Sando's constitutional rights since she was never brought before a
judge before being taken to jail. . . . "Despite the fact that the
trial court was aware … that [Sando] was a paraplegic confined to a
wheelchair who has several other health issues, the trial court
failed to advise [her] of the accusation against her, failed to give
[her] any opportunity to show cause why she should not be held in
contempt…" wrote assistant public defender Sarah Sandler.
October 2007
ALABAMA
Attorney says city not in compliance with disability law
By Evan Belanger
10-29-07 --
Ten months after a disabled Decatur resident filed a complaint
with the U.S. Department of Justice, the city is still out of
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, an attorney
said. . . . But city officials say they have not been confronted
with any specific noncompliance issues to correct. . . . In
January, disabled Decatur resident Rayburn Rogers filed a
discrimination complaint against the city with the U.S.
Department of Justice. In it, he complained there were too few
accessible parking spaces at City Hall and other city
properties. . . . Decatur City Hall has two
accessible parking spaces compared to about 165 general-access
spaces. The ADA requires two accessible spaces for every 25,
leaving the city about five spaces short. . . . While the
Justice Department declined to take action on the matter, the
Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program picked up the case,
initiating communication with Mayor Don Kyle and City Attorney
Herman Marks Jr. earlier this year.
FLORIDA
Lawyer: Refund disabled fees
Placard charge ruled
unconstitutional
By
Heather Scofield, Staff Writer
10-29-07 --
Two attorneys are demanding that Flagler and the rest of
Florida's counties refund fees
collected from handicapped drivers since 2002. . . . That's a
daunting challenge, said Carl Laundrie, Flagler County
spokesman. . . . "Sorting out who to refund and where they are
now would be a Herculean task," Laundrie said. . . . Tallahassee
attorney Karen Gievers said she isn't concerned how it gets
done, just that it does. . . . The local governments were taking
money they shouldn't have, and she has little sympathy for
complaints about how difficult it will be to give the money
back, Gievers said in a telephone interview recently.

FEDERAL
COURTS
Judge back in public eye for all the wrong reasons
Nottingham has undercut his
reputation by illegally parking in a handicapped spot and
dropping thousands at a strip club.
By
The Denver Post Editorial Board
10-23-07 --
Chief Federal Judge Edward Nottingham was in the news again over
the weekend, and again the reports were disappointing for
someone of his stature. . . . Nottingham illegally parked in a handicapped parking space in September. A woman
who uses a wheelchair describes a contentious scene with the
judge. He has said little publicly, other than to broadly
dispute her version of events. . . . It's impossible from our
vantage point to know the truth of what happened after he parked
illegally. That will be something for judges in the disciplinary
process to determine. But it's distressing to hear
Nottingham was again involved in a situation that puts him in the public eye for
all the wrong reasons. . . . In August, we learned
Nottingham had dropped thousands of dollars in one night at a strip club. Granted,
so far as we know there was nothing illegal about what he did.
He was embarrassed about the revelations, which came out of a
bitter divorce, and said they were a matter of "human frailties
and foibles." . . . In the most recent incident,
Nottingham parked in a
handicapped space outside the Walgreens on Colfax Avenue and
Race Street. He said he was making a quick stop to pick up a
prescription. A woman who uses a wheelchair blocked Nottingham's SUV from leaving the spot and contends he put the car in reverse and
threatened to have federal marshals remove her. . . . The woman,
Jeanne Elliott, was a lawyer in an
Arapahoe County courtroom in 1986
when she was shot and paralyzed by an angry litigant. She has
filed a complaint about the parking incident with the 10th U.S.
Court of Appeals. . . . In a brief and broadly worded statement,
the judge admitted the parking violation but disagreed with the
rest of Elliott's description of how the events unfolded. . . .
Were he an ordinary guy, a strip club visit and a parking ticket
wouldn't make for much news. But Nottingham is not just another guy. . . . Federal judges have great power to
decide the fate of people and cases that come before them. We
look to them to decide some of the most important issues of our
day. They should abide by the law, even simple ones, such as
where to park.
CALIFORNIA
Blinded teen seeks to compel use of unpublished court rulings
By
Michael Doyle | McClatchy Newspapers
10-10-07 --An errant paintball partially
blinded Joshua Hild. It also opened his eyes to how courts work.
. . . Hild of Fresno County, Calif., won $704,633 in a civil
lawsuit, only to lose the award in appeals court. Now, in a
potentially ground-breaking federal lawsuit, the former resident
of tiny Big Creek is challenging how judicial opinions are used
while he gets a crash course in the law. . . . "I've learned
that it's not always just," Hild said Tuesday. . . . The
19-year-old restaurant worker is suing the California Supreme
Court to reverse its practice of largely ignoring unpublished
court opinions. In California, these opinions disposing of
routine cases can't be cited as precedent. They also become
difficult to appeal. . . . They're very common. States and the
federal government, though, are starting to diverge in how they
handle unpublished opinions. . . . California courts of appeal
issued 11,852 opinions during the 2004-2005 fiscal year. Of
these, only 1,047 were published. . . . About one-third of
federal appellate-court decisions reviewed in 2002 came in
unpublished opinions. . . . "We're brought up in this country
that you have a right to trial and then, in case you have a bad
opinion, you have a right to have it heard by a higher court,"
said Brian Chase, Hild's attorney. "People like Josh should not
be left subject to a clearly flawed opinion."
CALIFORNIA
Judge allows class action against Target Web site
10-3-07 --
(Reuters) - A federal judge in California certified a class
action lawsuit against Target Corp brought by plaintiffs
claiming the discount retailer's Web site is inaccessible to the
blind, according to court documents. . . . Judge Marilyn Patel
of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
California also rejected Target's motion for summary judgment in
the case, according to the ruling filed October 2. . . .
According to the ruling, plaintiffs -- including the National
Federation of the Blind -- claim Target.com violates federal and
state laws prohibiting discrimination against the disabled. . .
. "This is a tremendous step forward for blind people throughout
the country who for too long have been denied equal access to
the Internet economy," Marc Maurer, president of the National
Federation for the Blind, said in a statement.

September 2007
FEDERAL
COURTS
3rd Circuit: Some ERISA Cases May Need More Scrutiny
Shannon P. Duffy, The Legal Intelligencer
9-17-07 -- Insurers regularly use video
surveillance in disability cases to ferret out bogus claims, but
a federal appeals court has now ruled that when the surveillance
is continued even after it has garnered no evidence of fraud,
the insurer's ultimate decision to cut off benefits may be
subject to "heightened scrutiny." . . . "While surveillance is
an aggressive tactic, nothing prohibits its use," U.S. Circuit
Judge Thomas L. Ambro wrote in the 57-page opinion in Post v.
Hartford Insurance Co. . . . But Ambro found that plaintiff
Carol Post made a valid argument when she complained that
Hartford continued to investigate her claim despite its
surveillance revealing that she did not leave her home. . . .
"The fact that Post did not leave her home while she was under
surveillance is perfectly consistent with, and corroborative of,
her claim for disability. Yet Hartford was undeterred in
continuing to pursue evidence that Post was not disabled," Ambro
wrote. . . . “Indeed, the very fact that its employees
characterized the results of the surveillance as 'unsuccessful'
suggests that its motive was to find evidence to deny Post's
claim," Ambro wrote in an opinion joined by Judge Theodore A.
McKee Jr.

GENERAL
Companies, Courts Debate Whether ADA Applies to Web Sites
Advocates for the disabled
are pressing companies to make their Web sites more accessible
Sherry Karabin, Corporate Counsel
9-7-07 -- Does the Americans with
Disabilities Act apply in cyberspace? Without clear guidance
from the courts, companies are deciding for themselves.
Pressured by advocacy groups, some businesses have already taken
steps to make their Web sites more accessible to the disabled.
But other companies have said that while they'll voluntarily
alter their sites, they aren't required to do so by the ADA. . .
. RadioShack Corp. is the latest company to reach an agreement
with advocates for the disabled. On June 13, the Fort Worth,
Texas-based electronics retailer announced that it would make
several improvements to its Web site for users who are visually
impaired. The agreement grew out of negotiations between
RadioShack and the American Council of the Blind and the
American Foundation for the Blind. . . . "RadioShack believes
that its products and services should be accessible to
individuals with disabilities," says Mickey Clark, a senior
litigation attorney at the company. "It was apparent that
RadioShack and the [blindness organizations] shared a common
goal, and we decided to work together to come up with a sensible
solution."
MARYLAND
Attorneys defend suits on ADA compliance
Business owners often resent lawsuits, lack of time given to remedy
violations
By Ben
Mook, The (Baltimore) Daily Record
9-7-07 --
Jeri
Wasco, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, visited a
Hyattsville shopping center recently and found curb ramps that were
too steep and no elevators going to the second floor. . . . She
filed a federal lawsuit against the center's owners, one of four she
filed last week against Maryland businesses, alleging violations of
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. . . . Counting those
four, Wasco has been a plaintiff in 38 lawsuits alleging violations
of the ADA in Maryland. She has also been involved in another nine
ADA cases filed in the District of Columbia. . . . Depending on who
is asked, lawsuits like Wasco's are either a fair and effective way
to bring businesses into compliance with the law, or "drive-by"
litigation spurred by filing mills in which attorneys glean high
legal fees for quickie lawsuits. . . . "The whole goal of the ADA is
accessibility, not to make a few unscrupulous attorneys rich," said
Melvin R. Thompson, vice president of government relations for the
Restaurant Association of Maryland.
Courting Trouble: The document granting
'power of attorney' often leads to abuse
First of a series
By
Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
9-2-07 --
Across the country -- and notably in Western Pennsylvania,
where the number of vulnerable elderly has compounded the
problem -- a simple legal document called a power of attorney is
disrupting the ever-lengthening lives it was supposed to
benefit. . . . A durable power of attorney, known less formally
as a POA, allows people too busy, too old, too ill or too far
away to designate an agent to take care of financial and
property transactions. The POA may authorize an agent to pay
bills, change documents, write checks, enter into contracts or
buy and sell their house. The purpose is to help people unable
to attend to their own affairs. . . . In most cases, it works.
When it goes wrong, lives can be ruined, families torn apart
and, wealth and savings lost in a mist of legal wrangling and
dubious transactions. . . . "Once you give people unlimited
authority, greed can overcome goodness," said Neil Hendershot, a
Harrisburg attorney who has lobbied in the past for reforms in
the law. Precisely how many times powers are abused is unclear
because no one knows how many power of attorney documents exist.
No court requires that they be filed when created, and in many
instances, abuses are never uncovered. . . . Sometimes it's hard
to distinguish outright abuse from misunderstanding or
incompetence. But motive ceases to matter when the result is
chaos.
August 2007
FLORIDA
Terri Schiavo and False Campaign Rhetoric
Daniel Downs
8-27-07 --
As presidential campaign rhetoric spews across America’s
airwaves, liberals of all stripes and special interests fault
Republican’s for their zealous efforts to defend Terri Schiavo’s
right to life. Even the prestigious financial publication,
The Economist, got in on the act recently. The
liberal spiel is that the federal government had no legal right
to interfere with a state judicial matter. More important to
Michael Schiavo and supporters is the view that family not
government should decide such medical matters. . . . What is
missing in liberal rhetoric is the interest of Terri Schiavo. In
her Slate article
Not Dead at All, Harriet McBryde Johnson, a
disability-rights lawyer, argued that Congress did have a right
to defend Terri. Because she was neither terminally ill nor was
the Florida court deciding on an end-of-life decision making
issue, congressional legislation giving the federal court the
last word was proper procedural law. Johnson wrote that Terri
had “a federal constitutional right not to be deprived of her
life without due process of law.” She also had “a statutory
right under the Americans with Disabilities Act not to be
treated differently because of her disability.” Because “killing
is not ordinarily considered a private family concern or a
matter of choice,” it was appropriate for Congress to give
federal courts jurisdiction to make sure state courts respected
her federally protected rights.
NEW YORK
Frank Bowe, deaf NY professor who fought for disabled, dies at
60
8-27-07 --
(AP) _ Frank Bowe, a deaf professor who helped win civil rights
protections for the disabled and advised Congress on how to
better serve people with disabilities, has died at age 60. . . .
The Hofstra University special-education professor had been
battling cancer that had spread throughout his body, one of his
daughters said Monday. He died Aug. 21 at a hospice in Melville.
. . . Bowe, deaf from childhood, was the first executive
director of the American Coalition of Citizens with
Disabilities, helping to direct the 1977 sit-ins that led to
federal enforcement of the first major law to bar discrimination
against the disabled. . . . The law required federally funded
institutions to make it possible for the disabled to access
services and public places, and it paved the way for the 1990
Americans with Disabilities Act.
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Attorneys Quit Bid to Subject Disabled Patient to
Euthanasia
by
Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor
8-20-07 -
In a surprise move, attorneys representing a La Crosse family
asked a judge for a dismissal of their motion to remove a
feeding tube from a woman who is not terminally ill and not
dying. Their original request invited legal action from pro-life
groups interest in helping the woman not be subject to
euthanasia. . . . The attorneys for the woman, named Marilyn,
filed their new request in a La Crosse circuit court late Friday
afternoon. . . . The lawyers admitted they would not likely win
their case, but they reserved the ability to file the motion
again at a later date. . . . Barbara Lyons, the director of
Wisconsin Right to Life, told LifeNews.com the unexpected
withdrawal of the motion "is excellent news for patients all
over the state who are in similar situations." . . . Lyons'
group filed a legal motion last week to attempt to intervene on
the behalf of the disabled woman. . . . "The La Crosse case was
being set up as a test case to change state law via the courts
to allow the removal of food and water from many vulnerable
patients," Lyons explained. "We empathize with the family of the
woman in question as they struggle through this difficult time.
Our prayers are with them." . . . Had the attorneys for the
guardian prevailed in the case, Marilyn could have been
subjected to the same painful starvation and dehydration death
that took Terri Schiavo's life in March 2005.
The New Right to Life
Roger Pilon Commentary
8-10-07 --
The wheels of justice turn
slowly, especially for the dying. On Tuesday the D.C. Circuit,
sitting en banc, reversed a 15-month-old decision by a panel of
the court that had recognized a constitutional right of
terminally ill patients to access potentially life-saving drugs
not yet finally approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Given the poor quality of Tuesday's opinion in
Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs v.
Eschenbach -- "startling," said the dissent -- one
wonders why it took so long. The opinion's one virtue is that it
brings out clearly how far modern "constitutional law" has
strayed from the Constitution, a document written to protect
liberty, not federal regulatory schemes. . . .Represented by the
Washington Legal Foundation, Abigail Alliance is named for
Abigail Burroughs, a 21-year-old college student who died of
cancer in 2001. Their argument could not be more simple or
straightforward, nor could Tuesday's dissent, written by Judge
Judith Rogers and joined by Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg, the
majority in the earlier opinion. Citing the Fifth Amendment's
right to life, the Ninth Amendment's assurance to the
Constitution's ratifiers that the rights retained by the people
far exceed those named in the document, and the Supreme Court's
"fundamental rights" jurisprudence, Judge Rogers argued that the
right to life, the right to self-preservation, and the right
against interference with those rights -- which the FDA is
guilty of -- are of one piece. They are deeply rooted in common
law and the nation's history and traditions, implicit in the
concept of ordered liberty, and thus "fundamental."
NEW
YORK
Judge Spotlights Shortage of Interpreters for the Deaf
By
Alan Feuer
8-10-07 --
The prevailing custom in the New
York courts is for sign language interpreters to work in tandem:
one translates the rapid-fire arguments of courtroom life, while
the other gets to rest weary hands. . . . There is, however, a
shortage in the courts of sign language interpreters, so this
buddy system does not always work, according to court officials.
Yesterday, a judge in Queens took note of the shortage, writing
a memorandum that explained why he had awarded an interpreter
who was forced to work alone twice his daily rate of pay. . . .
The judge, Justice Charles J. Markey of State Supreme Court,
gave the higher rate to Gabriel Grayson, a certified American
Sign Language interpreter. It was after Mr. Grayson had
translated for a deaf plaintiff at a six-day civil trial in June
involving a personal injury case. Mr. Grayson had told the judge
and other court officials in Queens of the normal
two-interpreter setup, but agreed to work alone, for a bit more
money, after officials could not find another interpreter to
relieve him.

MISSISSIPPI
Jackson criticized for lack of amenities for disabled
By
Kathleen Baydala
8-3-07 --
About once a month, Dr. Scott Crawford's craving for a fast-food
burger gets the better of him. That leads him to make the
dangerous trek down Northside Drive to McDonald's. . . . Why so
dangerous? . . . Crawford must rely upon a motorized wheelchair
to do the job his legs used to because of his multiple
sclerosis, a disease that attacks the nervous system's defenses.
On long stretches down Northside, his obstacles are cracked
sidewalks, steep curbs, mud, tree roots, heavy traffic and the
heat. . . . Those stretches are some of the reasons he's pushing
Jackson officials to improve public transportation for the
disabled. Since December, he has written several letters to the
mayor's office and City Council members asking them to create or
repair sidewalks and increase bus service hours for disabled
riders. . . . The solution should be simple, those who work with
the disabled say: More buses, better maintenance and more
training. . . . Becky Pierson, spokeswoman for JATRAN, the
city's transit system, responded: "We are aware there are some
people who want more services and longer hours, but that would
have to be taken care of by the city." . . . JATRAN is funded
with local and federal dollars but is run by a private company.
. . . Crawford said he relies on JATRAN because he has no other
option, adding he has problems getting door-to-door pickup. He
is not able to drive, and long trips in the wheelchair zap his
energy.
OHIO
The 'medical miracle' that brought near-vegetative brain
back to life
Mark
Henderson, Science Editor
8-3-07 --
The mother of a man who was left in a near-vegetative state by a
serious assault spoke yesterday of her joy at the “medical
miracle” that has allowed him to speak and eat again — and which
could benefit tens of thousands of people in a similar
condition. . . . The severely brain-injured patient, who is now
38, was unable to communicate, swallow or make co-ordinated
movements for six years, before doctors revived him from this
minimally conscious state (MCS) with a revolutionary therapy. .
. . Since his skull was implanted with electrodes to stimulate a
deep-lying and undamaged part of his brain, he has improved so
dramatically that he can now feed himself, brush his hair and
recognise and talk to his parents and doctors. . . . “My son can
now eat, sleep, watch a movie without falling asleep, he can
drink from a cup, he can express pain, he can cry, and he can
laugh,” his mother said. . . . “He can say, ‘I love you, Mommy’.
God bless those wonderful doctors who believed in my son, and
gave their time and effort to help my son.” . . . One of his
most impressive achievements has been to say from memory the
first 16 words of the Pledge of Allegiance, which is recited
daily by American schoolchildren.
IDAHO
Transgender inmate wins hormone therapy
By
Rebecca Boone, Associated Press Writer
8-2-07 --
An inmate who castrated herself
with a disposable razor blade after prison officials refused to
treat her for gender identity disorder should have female
hormone therapy paid for by the state, a federal judge said. . .
. Jenniffer Spencer, who was born biologically male, sued the
Idaho Department of Correction and its physicians, claiming that
her constitutional rights were violated and that she was
subjected to cruel and unusual punishment when the doctors
failed to diagnose gender identity disorder and treat her with
female hormones. Instead, the department and its doctors
repeatedly offered Spencer the male hormone testosterone. . . .
A trial over the lawsuit has not been scheduled, but U.S.
District Judge Mikel Williams ruled Friday that the state must
provide Spencer with psychotherapy and estrogen pending trial.
Williams also noted that Spencer is scheduled for release in two
years, and that getting the lawsuit to trial could take that
long or longer. . . . The state's attorneys contend that prison
doctors did not find conclusive evidence that Spencer, 27, has
gender identity disorder. It would be unethical for the doctors
to prescribe a drug that wasn't needed and that could do harm,
attorney John Burke said. . . . The judge disagreed.
Judge's decision 'normalizes' transgenderism
Family values group criticizes
ruling taxpayers must fund treatment
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
8-2-07 --
A family values organization is
criticizing a judge's ruling that taxpayers must pay for a
sex-change treatment for a state prison inmate. . . . According
to Associated Press reports, the inmate, Randall Gammett,
demanded a name change to Jenniffer Spencer while in |