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October 2007

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. . . .

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Blinded teen seeks to compel use of unpublished court rulings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."

September 2007

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." 

August 2007

The New Right to Life

Roger Pilon Wall Street Journal 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, NY Times

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.

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  

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 prison, as well as various treatments. . . . The inmate, in jail for possession of a stolen car and escape, believes "she is a woman trapped in a man's body," according to the report, and "castrated herself using a disposable razor blade" in a prison cell when state prison physicians declined to prescribe estrogen. . . . The inmate then filed a lawsuit against the Idaho Department of Correction, alleging a violation of constitutional rights for that refusal. . . . Now Judge Mikel Williams, of U.S. District Court, ordered the state to provide the inmate with psychotherapy and estrogen pending a trial. . . . Bryan Fischer, the executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance called it judicial activism "at its worst." . . . "Judge Williams has taken it upon himself to normalize transgenderism, and is forcing Idaho's taxpayers to subsidize a twisted approach to resolving gender identity disorders," Fischer said.

KANSAS

Stop by Road to Freedom bus likens disability, civil rights

By Claire Engelken, The Capital-Journal

8-2-07 -- A building that played a prominent role in abolition of racially segregated schools in the 1950s provided the backdrop Wednesday for a lesson on the rights of another group of people. . . . The Road to Freedom bus stopped at the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, 1515 S.E. Monroe, during its yearlong, 50-state tour to focus attention on the struggle to ensure the rights of disabled people. . . . Jim Ward, president of Americans with Disabilities Act Watch, said the Brown v. Board site was an appropriate stop for the tour. . . . "Rights for the disabled is not a charity issue," he said. "It's a civil rights issue." . . . Ward lives on the Road to Freedom bus with his wife, Debbie Fletter Ward, and sons Zach, 3, and Jake, 2. He said the bus has made 40 stops in the past eight months and will make another 45 stops before the tour ends in November in Washington, D.C. . . . The tour started on Nov. 15, 2006, in Washington, D.C., and is a project of ADA Watch and the National Coalition for Disability Rights. The bus houses a photographic exhibit that tells the history of the movement leading to passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. . . . According to the Web site www.roadtofreedom.org, the tour is designed to tell the history of the struggle for disability rights, past and present, and promote educational and economic opportunity for children and adults with physical, mental, cognitive, sensory and developmental disabilities.

June 2007

ARIZONA

ADF attorneys help reverse hasty decision to end hospitalized war veteran’s life

Injured man is responsive, will be transferred from hospice care to rehab facility
ADF Media Relations

6-29-07 -- Jesse Ramirez will have an opportunity to recover after attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund helped reverse a hasty decision that would have ended his life. . . . "Everyone deserves a chance to recover from an injury, and now Jesse has that chance," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Byron Babione.  "Jesse put his life on the line for us during the Gulf War.  The least that should be done for Jesse and his family is to give him a chance to recover." . . . ADF attorneys helped secure the restoration of food and water to the Gulf War veteran earlier this month after he suffered multiple injuries in a car accident on May 30.  After just 10 days in an intensive care unit, his food, water and antibiotics were withheld and remained so for five days.  Food and water was restored shortly after ADF filed a lawsuit, and now Ramirez will be transferred to a rehabilitation facility.

NEW YORK  

Quadriplegic NY Associate Says She Needs To Think, Not Walk

New York Lawyer, By Rosamaria Mancini, New York Law Journal

6-27-07 -- Attorney Jean Waters said she spends about 95 percent of her waking hours in a wheelchair. Even with crutches, she can walk only a few steps. A quadriplegic for more than two decades, she also cannot lift her arms above her shoulders. . . . Nevertheless, the 48-year-old Rockville Center native said, "I have always liked to challenge myself. I feel like I can do anything I put my mind to." . . . Her latest challenge is an associate's position at Plainview-based Rosicki, Rosicki & Associates, where she started this month. It is her first full-time law office position. . . . Ms. Waters said her disability does not hamper her work as a lawyer. She relies on her brain as she does research, writes briefs and interviews clients to find out their needs and how to address them.

CALIFORNIA

Homeowner Association Takes Home of Menally Ill Person
For $549 in Maintenence Dues

By Jay Goldstein

After reading Villa Appalling by Donie Vanitzian I can attest that the injustice in incalculable. My brother lost his home in Coldwater North Cooperative, Inc. because he is mentally ill and didn't know he had to pay $540 in dues. My mother left her home to us to protect my brother. He will never be able to replace that. The monthly fees for the home she paid in full for nearly 20 years ago is only $183 a month. I tried to pay the money for him when I found out, and they would not accept it. He will never be able to support himself and is currently on the streets with nowhere to go. . . . My mother passed away last July and my brother lived in their cooperative (like a condo) after she passed on. He is mentally ill and did not pay the association fees for 3 months and they used the Unlawful Detainer process to evict him and take away our interest in the CID. They then sold the membership to someone else for about $50,000 less then its worth on the open market. I was told, originally it was going to be sold to the sister of one of our board of directors, but my lawyers and others called them on it and they sold it to someone else a few days later. I am told that the association will not give me the money that they got for the "illegal" sale until my mentally ill brother signs a settlement offer that removes the association of any liability for their wrongdoing. In my book that's called blackmail no matter how you look at it. . . . I have racked up over $4,000 in attorney fees (on just letters and fax responses alone) and still cannot get any results. Doesn't it seem like the attorneys are the only ones who seem to profit from methods like this. In this transaction I'm referring to the association where my mothers homes is. The law firm is Swedelson & Gottlieb.

Law Firms Unite in Pro Bono Effort for Wounded Soldiers

Tresa Baldas, The National Law Journal

6-22-07 -- Wounded soldiers who allege that the government is downplaying their injuries and cheating them out of benefits have some new legal ammunition: three major law firms offering free legal services. . . . Concerned that injured soldiers are getting a raw deal upon returning home, three firms -- Foley & Lardner; Atlanta's King & Spalding; and New York's LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae -- have offered to do pro bono work on behalf of veterans who are appealing low disability ratings made by the government. . . . Those ratings dictate how much money injured veterans are entitled to, along with any medical and retirement benefits. . . . According to attorneys, numerous veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed that the military is underrating their injuries, thus shortchanging them of benefits they've earned.

CALIFORNIA

Julian working toward more access for disabled
By: Teri Figueroa - North County Times Staff Writer

6-11-07 -- Because an attorney threatened to sue most of the businesses in Julian, Arlene Howe can enter a popular bakery. It has a makeshift ramp. . . . And Howe can now sign her checks and fill out deposit slips in her bank, thanks to a new, lower counter. She hears the bank plans to install an automatic door; the one in place is quite heavy to open and maneuver around in a wheelchair. . . . "I'm just trying to access the town," said Howe, who gets around Julian in a wheelchair since a 2005 car accident left her with a spinal injury. . . . Julian is a little different now, 19 months after attorney Theodore Pinnock shook the mountain hamlet to its core with threats to sue shops, many of which were not fully accessible to the disabled. . . . The threats pit the access lawyer, who has severe cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, against several business owners who said remodeling their shops to comply with disability access laws would be costly and difficult.

ILLINOIS

People with Disabilities a Strong Labor Pool in Waiting  

The Business Ledger

6-5-07 -- People with disabilities are rarely looking for sympathy, but the overwhelming majority of them are searching for jobs, which can be hard to find as they face an extremely high unemployment rate and are often stigmatized. . . . “Seventy-five percent of people with disabilities who are of working age are unemployed,” said Ken Skord, project manager for AbilityLinks.org in Wheaton. “Two-thirds of those who are unemployed are actively looking for work and express a willingness to do so.” . . . For years, these individuals have faced this problem as they attempt to enter the workforce; many times they do so after a life-altering accident. And while many of them have achieved the highest levels of education and have a wealth of experience, they find that it is a different job market they face under these circumstances.

May 2007

Legal Victory for Families of Disabled Students

By Linda Greenhouse, New York Times

5-22-07-- A Supreme Court decision on Monday gave parents of children with disabilities the right to go to court without a lawyer to challenge their public school district’s individualized plan for their child’s education. . . . The 7-to-2 decision involved an interpretation of the federal law that gives all children the right to a “free appropriate public education,” regardless of disability. Millions of children receive benefits under the law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Most federal appeals courts have ruled that when a dispute brings families and school districts into court, the parents cannot proceed without a lawyer. . . . Many parents, including the couple from Parma, Ohio, who brought this case, either cannot afford a lawyer or cannot find one. Increasingly, school districts have been bringing parents who seek to handle their own cases into court on charges of violating state statutes against the “unauthorized practice of law.”

CALIFORNIA

Judge orders Riverside to pay disabled man $221K, fix city curbs

(AP) Sign on San Diego

5-17-07 -- A federal judge has ordered Riverside to pay $221,000 in damages to a wheelchair-bound man who has fought the city for almost two decades to improve curbs, sidewalks and driveways. . . . U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson granted the award to John Lonberg, 69, on Wednesday and also ordered the city to fix 189 curb ramps within four months. . . . “It couldn't get much better than this,” Lonberg said. “This will send a message to Riverside and other cities that courts won't tolerate intolerable delay in making services available to everyone.” . . . The award is the largest in a state case involving disabled access, the Los Angeles Times reported. . . . Larson's ruling requires the city to repair sidewalk ramps that violate the federal Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and state access laws dating to 1968.

Lawyers as a Disability

Strategy Page

5-7-07 -- As feared, lawyers are increasingly soliciting troops coming back from duty overseas, and urging them to claim they have  Combat fatigue (or PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder) and apply for disability benefits. This recently became big news in Australia, but the involvement of crooked lawyers in disability scams has been big business in the United States for decades. . . . PTSD usually first manifests itself while troops are still in the combat zone, if not in combat itself.  This has meant stationing lots of mental health personnel as close to the fighting as possible. Getting troops to acknowledge that PTSD is just another combat injury has proved difficult. But there is progress, albeit slow, in getting the troops to report problems they are having. But the crooked lawyers will coach troops to exhibit the right symptoms, and then guide them through the application process, in return for a portion of the disability payments received.

April 2007

NEW YORK  

Judge Finds Sinusitis Not a Disability

New York Lawyer, By Rosamaria Mancini, New York Law Journal

4-24-07 -- A Nassau Community College professor's claim that she was discriminated against due to her "severe chronic sinusitis" has been thrown out by a Nassau judge. . . . In Staskowski v. Nassau Community College, 16616/2006, Supreme Court Justice Thomas A. Adams dismissed Andrea Staskowski's suit, saying that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, sinusitis "does not qualify as a disability." . . . Alan E. Wolin, of Jericho-based Wolin & Wolin, who represented Ms. Staskowski, said his client was considering an appeal. . . . In addition to the college, Ms. Staskowski also named the State University of New York, the college's vice president for academic affairs, as well as seven members of the college's budget and personnel committee. . . . Ms. Staskowski, a tenured professor in the communications department at Nassau Community College, a part of the State University of New York, received a letter from the college's personnel and budget committee on Sept. 14, 2004 warning her about excessive absences and tardiness during the fall 2004 semester.

NEW JERSEY  

The Law Firm of Kazmierczak & Kazmierczak Releases Free Informational Website on Social Security Disability and SSI

Kazmierczak & Kazmierczak launches the Ultimate Disability Guide. This site provides free information on Social Security Disability and SSI. It is designed to help anyone with or with out a lawyer pursue a claim for benefits. Explains the law, the process and gives tips on how to win.

4-3-07 -- (PRWeb) Kazmierczak and Kazmierczak a law firm that has handled thousands of Social Security Disability cases nation wide has released a new informational website covering all aspects of Social Security Disability and SSI. This information is free and Karl Kazmierczak shares all of his experience in dealing with the Social Security Administration. . . . The Ultimate Social Security Disability Guide covers in an easy to understand way: . . . How to apply; / How to appeal; / SSA's five step process; / What medical information you need; / What to expect at a Social Security Disability hearing; / Tips on how to win; / The medical listings; / And much more. . . . The site is updated frequently to provide updated and accurate information. If any information on the subject is not found in the site one can simply e-mail Karl Kazmierczak directly.

ILLINOIS

Disabled hit huge roadblocks in routine health care

"We’ve got to attack this from all levels," said Kirschner, who previously wrote a white paper with her colleague

Judy Panko Reis, director of The RIC Women with Disabilities Center. -Northwestern University

4-3-07 -- Rachel steered her wheelchair into a Chicago area medical center for a series of upper gastrointestinal tests. But when Rachel, who has cerebral palsy, entered the radiology lab, the technician told her she had to stand up to take the test. . . . "But I can’t stand," Rachel explained. The medical center, however, had no alternate strategy, and sent her home without having the test. . . . Across town, Susan, who also uses a wheel chair, arrived at the office of her new gynecologist for a routine exam and Pap smear. But there was nothing routine about it. The doctor’s office did not have a wheelchair accessible examination table or transfer equipment. Instead, staff members awkwardly grabbed and hoisted Susan, her flimsy paper gown fluttering, onto the table. . . . "It was one of the most humiliating, terrifying experiences of my life," Susan recalled. . . . People with physical disabilities endure substandard health care and a pervasive sense that they are a burden to doctors and medical centers, according to a Northwestern University physician. These patients often ram into roadblocks when they try to obtain basic care and life-saving diagnostic tests.

NEW YORK  

NY Court Makes Accommodations to Allow Deaf Juror to Serve

New York Lawyer, By Rosamaria Mancini, New York Law Journal

4-3-07 -- Henry Barba of Merrick was happy to be called for jury duty. . . . "I was not hoping to get out of it," said Mr. Barba, who was born deaf but is able to speak. "I wanted to try it." . . . Mr. Barba, 32, was picked, but Nassau County court officials had to make special arrangements before he could take his place on the panel. . . . Without help, Mr. Barba could not have followed the testimony in Bitetto v. South Nassau Communities Hospital, 016456/2001, a medical malpractice case before Supreme Court Justice Edward McCarty involving an alleged injury at childbirth. . . . To accommodate Mr. Barba, a court reporter transcribed the proceedings during trial and the transcripts appeared in real time on the laptop Mr. Barba used to keep track of testimony.

March 2007

CALIFORNIA  

Access attorney fined after suing store closed by flooding

By Marjie Lundstrom, Scripps News

One of California's busiest disabled access attorneys _ a controversial figure who has sued entire towns over alleged access violations _ has been rebuked by a San Diego federal court judge for his conduct in a recent case. . . . San Diego attorney Theodore Pinnock, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, was ordered to pay more than $15,000 in legal fees incurred by a business owner who was sued over alleged access violations at a convenience store that wasn't even open for business. . . . U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller also took the unusual step this week of imposing sanctions against Pinnock, ordering the attorney to complete four hours of ethics and professional responsibility training classes approved by the California State Bar. . . . The judge's ruling illuminates the controversy in California over enforcement of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

OHIO

Disabled Hamilton woman's effort inspires many

Jessi Hutson has cerebral palsy but she didn't let it keep her from collecting funds for Children's Center.

By Michael D. Pitman, Journal-News Staff Writer

3-22-07 -- Jessi Hutson's cerebral palsy affects her gestures, posture and speech. . . . Here hands and arms are curled close to her body and she stumbles as she walks. When she gets tired, she needs her wheelchair to get around. . . . But for a couple of weeks this past summer, the 24-year-old Hamilton woman made the effort to walk around her neighborhood, handing people fliers she made to collect money for the Joe Nuxhall Children's Center. She also solicited at a Hamilton Kroger to raise funds for the center, a facility that can be used at no charge by organizations that serve mentally and physically disabled people as well as the underprivileged. . . . Hutson, a Special Olympics basketball player, collected $150. . . . It may not seem like a lot of money compared to the $2 million needed to build the facility planned for 5 acres at One Way Farm on River Road, but her story is inspiring to many.

Schiavo Sister: Every Human Life Has Equal Moral Value

North Country Gazette

3-14-07 -- Suzanne Vitadamo sister of Terri Schindler Schiavo spoke about her family's struggle to care for her disabled sister in Kennewick on Saturday as one of the featured speakers at the 3rd Annual It's About Life Conference sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Council. . . . The disabled woman died by way of court-ordered dehydration and starvation at a Pinellas County hospice on March 31, 2005. Suzanne and her family continue to wage a battle to save other people with disabilities through the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, established by the Schindler family in 2000 in St. Petersburg, Fla. . . . The Foundation seeks to establish a network of attorneys, doctors and other professionals to try to assist medically dependent families in crisis and ensure that they have a fighting chance at life.

COLORADO

Colorado Woman Awakes Briefly From Long Coma

from Citizen Links staff reports

Life advocates say it shows all life deserves protection.

3-9-07 -- A woman awoke briefly from a 6-year-long coma over the weekend, then slipped back. . . . Last Sunday, Christa Lilly of Colorado Springs, Colo., told her mom she was fine, visited with her youngest daughter, Chelcey and ate cake. The awakening marked the fourth time she’s been conscious since she fell into a coma. . . . Lilly suffered a heart attack and stroke that left her in a minimally conscious state. She is fed by tube and attended to by her mother, Minnie Smith. . . . Life advocates say cases like Lilly's serve as a strong reminder that all life is precious and deserves protection. . . . The biggest frustration, she said, is learning to talk again. Dr. Randall Bjork, Lilly’s neurologist, said he’s never seen a case like this before. . . . “This is miraculous, because we don’t expect this to happen," he said. "A miracle would be a fantastical thing that’s good and unexpected, and that would fulfill my definition of that.”

February 2007

FLORIDA

Storming The Gates Of Secular Babylon
Op-Ed By Mark Pickup

2-28-07 -- We are approaching the second anniversary Terri Schiavo's state-sanctioned execution. What was Terri's crime? Her disability fell below an arbitrary level of 21st century---public acceptability. She bore silent witness to America to be a society of justice, mercy, and love for life. . . . She was dragged to the abyss of death by court sanctioned starvation and dehydration. Her situation demanded justice; her predicament cried for mercy; her humanity called to a nation's allegiance to protect and treasure the Right to Life (even for the weakest) -- as was proclaimed at the birth of America. . . . Those who espoused Terri's contrived right to die seemed to believe it's better to be dead than disabled. Based on some passing remark Terri made back when she was in her twenties, her estranged husband said she didn't want to live with profound disability. Who does? But that did not mean she was better off dead.

NEW YORK  

No Puppy Love in School: Judge Upholds Decision to Bar Service Dog

New York Lawyer, By Rosamaria Mancini, New York Law Journal

2-28-07 --A deaf East Meadow high school student cannot bring his service dog to school, a federal judge ruled yesterday. . . . Eastern District Judge Arthur Spatt denied John Cave Jr.'s motion for a preliminary injunction that would have forced the East Meadow School District to allow Simba, his Labrador retriever, to attend classes with Mr. Cave at W. Tresper Clarke High School. . . . Judge Spatt said Mr. Cave, 14, and his family had not exhausted all of the remedies afforded to them by the school district, including requesting a hearing or meeting with the state's Committee on Special Education. Instead, they filed a $150 million discrimination suit.

CALIFORNIA  

Moreno Valley attorney helps train service dogs

By Dan Lee The Press-Enterprise

2-20-07 -- If you've ever seen Moreno Valley attorney Michael Geller around town, you've probably seen him with a dog on a leash in tow. . . . They go everywhere together: restaurants, social gatherings -- even to the Riverside County courthouse in Riverside. . . . That's because Geller is raising a puppy that will become a service dog for the disabled. A Menifee-based agency, Canine Support Teams, assigns him a puppy -- usually a golden retriever, a Labrador retriever or poodle -- to train until the dog is about 18 months old. . . . "We raise them and do basic obedience training and get them used to the outside world," Geller said during an interview in his Moreno Valley law office. . . . After the dogs reach about 18 months, they leave their puppy trainers to undergo advanced training for six to eight months. Some of it is done at Canine Support Teams, but most of it occurs with inmates at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Geller said. The prison is the first in California to have such a program.

NEW JERSEY

Not afraid to talk about it
By Lisa Bendele, Princetonian Senior Writer

2-16-07 -- "Can I catch it?" "Does it really hurt?" . . . The questions came, one after another, at the fifth-grade assembly — not malicious, but naive, potentially embarrassing and very personal. . . . Kelly Matula '09 wanted to answer them. . . . Matula, who has cerebral palsy, has been asked about her disability by her peers ever since she can remember. Rather than shying away from these queries, however, Matula has emerged as an advocate for others in her position. . . . "I thought the assembly would be a good idea because it's important to get kids comfortable with asking questions while they're still at a young age," she said. "Kids are naturally very curious, and if you don't answer their questions, they will come up with their own answers in their minds." ***** As a high school junior, she started disabledstudent.com, an informational website that describes disabilities and the challenges and opportunities that disabled students may encounter in their lives. . . . With the website, Matula said, she hopes to let disabled children know that it is still possible to find joy in life while living with a physical impairment.

NEW YORK

Nassau School Sued For Refusing Deaf Teen's Service Dog

© 2007 North Country Gazette

2-9-07 -- A Nassau County school is facing a $150 million lawsuit in federal court for refusing to allow the service dog of a deaf Westbury teen to accompany him to classes. . . . The East Meadow School District is being sued by John Cave Jr. and his parents, John and Nancy Cave, after school officials refused to allow the 14-year-old to bring the dog to class. . . . Supt. Robert Dillon says that service dogs are banned from the school "to foster a safe and effective school environment" and claims that the dog would pose a health and safety hazard to other students and staff. . . . Both the Caves say that the school district is violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. . . . Simba, a two-year-old Labrador retriever, became John Jr.'s service dog in December after receiving six months of training. The federal litigation says that the dog's effectiveness as a service dog is impaired if he spends too much time away from the teen, saying that "Simba is alone six to eight hours a day and has been declining in his ability and training and as such is in serious risk of failing to provide the services he was trained to provide", according to the lawsuit. . . . Dillon says the boy doesn't need the dog in order to access the school.

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January 2007

New ADA Rules Proposed for Cruise Ships

Cruise News

1-30-07 -- In a move that could result in a change in the way physically challenged people travel, the Department of Transportation has submitted a formal proposal to address "policies and conditions relating to transportation of passengers with disabilities." This proposal does not deal at all with physical structures, architectural barriers or the operation of cruise vessels; those issues are being handled elsewhere. Instead, it addresses how those with physical challenges are treated as individuals by the cruise lines and how, by implementing ADA rules, that treatment must change. . . . This all came about because of a Supreme Court case in 2005. In Spector et al vs. Norwegian Cruise Line, the court was asked to decide whether or not the Americans with Disabilities Act applied to passenger cruise vessels, and specifically, if U.S. rules could be applied to ships that were registered in foreign countries.

Do Web Sites Need to Be Accessible to the Blind?

Carla J. Rozycki and David K. Haase, Special to Law.com

1-10-07 -- An advocacy group has sued Target Corp., claiming that Target's Web site is incompatible with software used by the blind and that such incompatibility is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). . . . In National Federation for the Blind v. Target Corp. (__ Supp.2d __, 2006 WL 2578282 [N.D. Cal. Sept. 6, 2006]), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California refused to dismiss those claims, leaving many questions unanswered for entities operating Web sites.

TITLE III OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

In 1990, Congress enacted the ADA to establish a comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability and, in certain circumstances, to require affirmative efforts to accommodate individuals with disabilities. Title III of the ADA provides for accessibility of places of public accommodation. . . . The ADA defines a "place of public accommodation" as a facility, operated by a private entity, whose operations affect commerce and fall within at least one of 12 specified categories. 42 U.S.C. §12181(7). . . . The statute and implementing regulations were enacted before the Internet became an everyday tool and do not expressly state whether the Internet is a place of public accommodation. The Department of Justice has consistently taken the position that it is -- for example, through the filing of amicus briefs.

Read the Judge's Order   /   Read the Complaint

FLORIDA  

Handicapped parking space filled by judge

The problem: The placard on the dashboard of his Mercedes was issued to an 86-year-old woman.

By Bill Varian, Times Staff Writer

1-26-07 -- Each day, administrative law judge Elving L. Torres decides whether people are disabled enough to receive Social Security benefits. . . . Sometimes he puts himself in the shoes of people who appear before him: He parks his luxury import car in the handicapped spaces outside the building where he works. . . . A handicapped parking placard appears on the dashboard of his silver Mercedes-Benz AMG coupe. But it was issued to an 86-year-old woman from Bradenton, according to state motor vehicle records. . . . At least once this week, by parking in a handicapped spot, Torres, 62, may have denied a woman who uses a wheelchair and works in the same building the ability to park there. She had to park at the far end of the lot and propel herself up an incline to get to her office because there were no empty handicapped spaces. . . . "Shame on him," said the woman, Raquel Fruchter, 55, who works as a program coordinator for the Arts Council of Hillsborough County and has polio.

MAINE   

Learning-disabled law grads sue for bar test accommodations
The Associated Press, Times Argus

1-24-07 -- Two law school graduates with learning disabilities have sued the state board that administers the bar examination, saying they should be given additional time and other accommodations they need in order to pass the test. . . . Bruce Montgomery, 62, of Georgetown, has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and has failed the bar examination four times; Toby Jandreau, 30, of Portland, has a nonverbal learning disability and failed the exam after twice being denied extra time. . . . In their Cumberland County Superior Court lawsuit against the Board of Bar Examiners, Montgomery and Jandreau seek a preliminary injunction that would let them take the bar exam during the last week of February with accommodations that include additional time for both men and a private room for Montgomery. . . . "We're not asking for special treatment. We're just asking for a level playing field for these guys," said Chad Hansen, the Disability Rights Center of Maine attorney who represents the two men. "The bar examiners have set a ridiculously impossible standard for these guys to meet."

MASSACHUSETTS

Dan Iagatta's Plight

In a little over two years he went from an able-bodied self-employed plumbing and heating contractor/pilot/firefighter/paramedic/town official/environmentalist/and most importantly a father of two boys, ages 10 & 12.  Dan has spent over $100,000 modifying his marital home for his quadriplegia disability caused by a bicycle accident.  The courts have done Dan great injustices by not allowing him or giving him special access (as required by the American Disabilities Act?) for his first four days of trial, removing visitation and custody of his two children, wife allowed to remove children from religious education classes that Dan teaches, Judge intimidates Dan to use a lawyer at trial, Judge makes biased decision on first day of trial stating “I envision you making $70,000 in the near future” and  “I am familiar with your disability”. . . . Dan now has until the end of August to give his estranged wife 50% of the marital home in cash and $75,000 in 10 years and to pay back the two children's college funds tenfold and Dan is to surrender his $200,000 inheritance to his wife, she is allowed to keep her $250,000 inheritance and Dan has to remove a $40,000 elevator along with a $15,000 ramp and put all the doors back to their original location before his injury.  Dan also has to pay the parent coordinator in full (even though the court order says his estranged wife pay) Dan has to pay the last 18 months of mortgage and maintenance (even though the court order says it is to come from the proceeds “off the top” before division of assets) of approximately $54,000 on top of several promissory notes and a lien by Mass Health along with other outstanding bills that would have to be paid once Dan turned his house into a “liquid asset”.  Judge Boorstein is quoted “will have to obtain an apartment, most likely the most realistic alternative form for him”.(That is a hidden name for a urine soaked nursing home) 

December 2006

Should US bills be 'blind friendly'?

A federal judge ruled that the Treasury should change paper currency to make denominations easily identifiable by the blind.

By Cristian Lupsa | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

12-07-06 -- Jerry Berrier is a serious bird guy. In 35 years of birding, Mr. Berrier has clocked countless hours trolling the outdoors, listening for the faintest of hums. At his home in Shrewsbury, Mass., he even hooked his computer speakers to microphones in the backyard so he can record the songs of visiting birds. (He uploads these to his website, www.birdblind.org.) . . . Today, Berrier can identify 35 to 40 birds by their song. But if you put a few crisp bills in his hand, he couldn't tell a $1 bill from a $20 bill. That's because Berrier is blind, and US bills are all the same size and texture. . . . But paper money could get a makeover that would help people like Berrier. Last week, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Treasury Department had to consider changing paper currency so denominations could be easily identified by the blind. Current bill design amounts to discrimination, the judge wrote. . . . Surprisingly, the ruling was not universally embraced by the more than 10 million blind and visually impaired people in America. While few deny that having differentiated bills would make life easier, some say the lawsuit sends a message that the blind are helpless. Opponents also say it detracts from other problems blind people face, such as unemployment and lack of Internet access. . . . The United States is alone among more than 180 countries in having paper currency that is identical in size and color, the judge wrote. Potential changes to the currency include embossing, punching holes, notching, or making the bills different sizes. The Treasury, which has until the end of this week to appeal the decision, has argued that any change would be costly - estimates range from $75 million for equipment and $9 million in annual expenses to punch holes to $178 million in one-time charges and $50 million in annual expenses to print different-size bills.

DoD Civilians Prove Disability Is No Handicap
By Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service

12-07-06 --  Lisa Marie Waugh offers tried-and-true advice to people with disabilities who want to get ahead in life: "You should let nothing stop you."  . . . Waugh, an intelligence research specialist with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, at Fort Belvoir, Va., has successfully dealt with Stargardt's disease, a malady that has compromised her vision. . . . "I'm just thankful for what I have," Waugh said. . . . Waugh was among 14 Defense Department employees honored at the 26th Annual DoD Disability Awards held yesterday in Bethesda, Md. . . . David S. C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, hosted the event and presented awards to outstanding DoD civilian employees with disabilities. The award ceremony was followed by the start of a federal disability forum that's held each year. . . . "This is the only annual training conference that focuses exclusively on federal employment of individuals with disabilities," Chu said, noting President Bush is dedicated to help disabled Americans reach their full potential. . . . The Defense Department is a recognized leader in assisting disabled persons to have full and productive lives, Chu said, noting DoD hired 206 disabled students for permanent and summer jobs this year. Some occupations filled under the program included aerospace engineer, accounting clerk, park ranger, archeologist, cartographic aide, and store worker.

November 2006

AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

Bar association report focuses on diversity benefits

11/22/2006 -- A new American Bar Association report focuses on the benefits of diversity in the workplace, why it pays to hire lawyers with disabilities, and what the law requires of legal employers. . . . Based on the proceedings of an association conference co-sponsored by the Commmission on Mental and Physical Disability Law and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the report offers information and recommend- ations to legal employers on "best practices," and legal and ethical obligations as to the hiring of, retaining and providing accommodations for, lawyers with disabilities. . . . The report discusses how disabilities affect lawyers in all sectors of the legal profession, identifies the most prominent disability categories and outlines the most pressing needs of lawyers with disabilities.

Do the Rights of the Disabled Extend to the Blind on the Web?

By Bob Tedeschi, New York Times

11-06-06 -- ACCORDING to an advocacy group, Target declined last year to make its Web site fully accessible to blind people with specialized screen-reading technology last year. If true — and Target has denied the accusation in court — it was a public relations blunder, and it may have been illegal as well. . . . The National Federation of the Blind sued Target, contending that the company’s inaction violated the Americans with Disabilities Act because the Web site is essentially an extension of its other public accommodations, and as such, should be easily accessible to people with disabilities. . . . A Target spokeswoman would not comment on those assertions, but in court the company offered testimony from three blind users rebutting the federation’s arguments. . . . On Sept. 6, a federal judge in California held, in a preliminary ruling on the suit, that in some instances, Web sites must cater to disabled people. . . . Legal scholars say the full reach of that ruling will not be clear until the case is decided, if it reaches that point.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Part Of The Office Family

Kelo

10-15-06 -- A special needs student in Sioux Falls is getting a rare opportunity for any kid his age. He's working with the Minnehaha County State's Attorney's office. . . . What some could see as a mundane office job, has transformed the life of one teenager. . . . Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Dave Nelson says, "They're important and they're sensitive documents and they can't be just tossed out in the trash ." . . . Nelson says, "They need to be shredded and Matthew has proven that he's very capable of doing that." . . . Eighteen-year-old Matthew Waterman takes this paper-shredding job seriously.  Matthew’s teacher Darbie Moran says, "He's quite excited about the shredder and the size of it ...it’s pretty impressive." . . . Everyone around the Minnehaha County State's Attorney's office finds Matthew impressive. . . . Nelson says, “I think it’s very rewarding for the lawyers and staff in our office to work with Matthew.” . . . He's a wiz at paper shredding and labeling.  But he has trouble communicating. That's because he has Fragile X Syndrome, it's a genetic condition that's left him with severe learning disabilities. His teacher at Washington High School says this job gives him the confidence he needs to succeed in the classroom.  . . . Moran says, “It’s just made a world of difference with Matthew and he's so very proud of his job and his office and he talks about it all the time.” 

CALIFORNIA

Deaf drivers due a chance at UPS jobs, court says
Some may be as safe as rivals with normal hearing, ruling holds

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Deaf people who are qualified to drive in every state should have a chance to drive small delivery trucks for United Parcel Service if they show they are as safe behind the wheel as employees with normal hearing, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. . . . The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a federal judge's ruling two years ago that UPS, the world's largest private package carrier, violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by refusing to allow deaf employees to compete for jobs driving its smaller trucks, those weighing 10,000 pounds or less. . . . Larger trucks, which make up more than 90 percent of the Atlanta-based company's fleet of 65,000 vehicles, are covered by U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, which include hearing standards for drivers. But the court said UPS had failed to prove that deaf drivers would necessarily pose a safety risk in the smaller vehicles.

Does the Americans with Disabilities Act Require that Commercial Websites Be Accessible to the Blind?
A Recent Court Ruling Suggests the Answer Is Yes, But Only for Certain Sites
By Anita Ramasastry, Find Law

10-3-06 -- Just last month, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel -- of the San Francisco-based U.S. District Court for the North District of California - ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to some commercial websites. The holding was the first of its kind. . . . Unless Judge Patel's ruling is reversed on appeal, its upshot will likely be that many retail websites - in particular, those intrinsically linked to companies' brick-and-mortar operations - will have to start complying with the ADA. . . . However, because Judge Patel's decision did not reach web-only retailers, it may be necessary for Congress to revisit the ADA if it wishes to ensure that all web retailers make their sites accessible. . . . Given that there are some very significant web-only sellers - eBay and Amazon.com come immediately to mind - Congress should seriously consider this option. (Some groups have lobbied Congress to modify the ADA to explicitly cover the Internet, but the law has yet to be changed.) . . . The Lawsuit That Prompted Judge Patel's Ruling . . . The ADA suit, filed in February of this year, was brought by Bruce Sexton, Jr., a blind University of California-Berkeley student. In conjunction with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), Sexton alleged that Target's website violates the ADA because it is not fully navigable by the visually-impaired. (Sexton has also sought class action status on behalf of those similarly-situated.)

September 2006

Study reveals brain activity of patient in ‘vegetative state’
By Gregory Tomlin, Baptist Press

9-11-06 -- A patient said to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) had the capacity to understand and respond to verbal commands, a team of European researchers reported in the journal Science Sept. 8. . . . Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to examine the brain of a woman who was critically injured in an automobile accident in July 2005. When they provided voice commands, such as instructions to imagine herself in a game of tennis, portions of the woman’s brain showed a surprising amount of activity, not unlike those of healthy people who agreed to participate in the same study. . . . “Her decision to cooperate ... by imaging particular tasks when asked to do so represents a clear act of intention, which confirmed beyond any doubt that she was consciously aware of herself and her surroundings,” the researchers noted in the study.

CALIFORNIA

Judge: ADA lawsuit against Target can proceed

by Eric Bangeman

9-11-06 -- In February, a blind University of California-Berkeley student sued Target over the discount retailer's web site. Bruce Sexton Jr., president of the California Association of Blind Students, alleges that Target's web site violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by not making the site fully navigable by the visually impaired. His lawsuit was filed in conjunction with the National Federation of the Blind and seeks class-action status. . . . Late last week, a judge ruled that the lawsuit could go forward. In the case of the National Federation of the Blind v. Target, Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled that retailers can be sued if their websites are not accessible to the blind. In her opinion for the US District Court for the Northern District of California, Patel wrote that "the 'ordinary meaning' of the ADA's prohibition against discrimination in the enjoyment of goods, services, facilities or privileges, is that whatever goods or services the place provides, it cannot discriminate on the basis of disability in providing enjoyment of those goods and services."

WASHINGTON

Disabled woman wins: Motel can't refuse dog
Inn plans to appeal $2,500 fine over service animal

By Kery Murakami, P-I Reporter

9-11-06 -- Dawn Lucas pulled open the door of her subsidized apartment in Seattle. And to the right of her wheelchair stood her dog, Otter. . . . "November, we'll be together five years," she said. . . . After maneuvering her chair around, she held onto Otter's leash with one hand and the harness around his chest with the other. "Forward," she said, and Otter began walking toward the elevator, Lucas in tow. . . . It was in much the same way that Lucas and Otter left the YWCA Angeline's Center for Homeless Women downtown in May 2004. They got on a Metro bus and headed up Aurora Avenue North in search of a cheap motel room for the night. . . . But Lucas was turned away when she and Otter got to the Georgian Motel at North 88th Street.

August 2006

Disabled Student Learning the Law With the Help of Some Paws

New York Lawyer, By Honor Jones, The Legal Intelligencer

8-25-06 -- Jinks is smarter than the average dog. He doesn't chew stilettos or steal food off the counter. He doesn't lie around drooling over tennis balls all day. Instead, Jinks, a 4-year-old golden lab, is helping Gina Goldblatt go to law school. . . . Goldblatt, 23, has cerebral palsy, a brain injury that severely limits her ability to stand, walk, and do simple tasks such as picking things off the floor, paying cashiers or handing in homework assignments. . . . Goldblatt's physical limitations, however, couldn't keep her from traveling 3,000 miles away from her family's home in Northern Virginia to attend college at the University of Arizona. She has just graduated, and is planning to start law school in the fall of 2007. . . . She credits her canine companion with helping her to open doors - both figurative and literal - including those allowing her to get to law school.

CALIFORNIA

Disability Rights Group Sues Over Calif. Sidewalks

NewsMax.com Wires

8-25-06 -- A disability rights group sued the state Wednesday alleging sidewalks along California highways violate federal and state law because they are unfit for wheelchairs. . . . The suit filed in federal court against the Department of Transportation by Californians for Disability Rights Inc. seeks no money, but demands the state repair the sidewalks. . . . "I'd like to limit the thrill rides to Disneyland and avoid them while traveling along Pacific Coast Highway," said plaintiff Ben Rockwell of Long Beach, who uses a wheelchair. . . . Many sidewalks do not have adequate access ramps and light posts and crumbling walkways hinder access, the suit said. The Americans With Disabilities Act and a similar state law require sidewalks are accessible for everyone.

July 2006

Disability claims appeals swamp veterans court

By Dennis Camire, Gannett News Service

7-14-06 -- Veterans appealing disability claims and other issues may soon be waiting much longer for decisions. . . . The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims' case backlog has more than doubled in the past two years to 5,800. If the trend continues, veterans could be waiting more than three years for a decision from the court, said Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Currently, it takes a year, on average, for a case to go through the court. . . . "With thousands of wounded service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, we must ensure that our veterans will receive timely decisions on their claims," Craig said at a committee hearing on the issue. . . . For Irving M. Levin, 83, a World War II veteran appealing a disability claim decision by the Veterans Affairs Department to the court for the third time, time is running out.

UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT

At the End of its Term, The Supreme Court Denies Mentally Ill Defendants' Right to a Fair Trial

By Sherry F. Colb, FindLaw

7-14-06 -- Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Clark v. Arizona, upheld Arizona's insanity defense and affirmed a trial judge's refusal to consider expert testimony about the defendant's mental illness to rebut prosecution evidence of intent. The decision moved in the direction of depriving mentally ill people of an equal right to defend themselves against criminal charges. . . . In the case before the Court, Eric Michael Clark had been convicted of killing Jeffrey Moritz, a police officer. At his trial, Clark did not dispute that he had shot Moritz to death but claimed that he did not know - as the Arizona statute required - that Moritz was a police officer. He also claimed insanity, which Arizona defines as the inability to understand that one's actions are wrong. . . . In the service of these two defenses, Clark offered psychiatric expert testimony and the observations of lay witnesses. The trial judge in the case played the roles of both judge and jury, because Clark had waived his right to a jury trial. The judge decided that he would consider the psychiatric testimony only on the question of insanity, but not on the second question of whether Clark had the knowledge or intent to kill a police officer required for him to be guilty of first-degree murder in Arizona.

Crazy Law

The Supreme Court beats up on the insanity defense.

By Emily Bazelon, Slate

7-14-06 -- The psychiatrists who testified in the case of Eric Clark agreed that he was a paranoid schizophrenic, and actively psychotic, when he shot and killed a police officer in Flagstaff, Ariz. Clark had previously been hospitalized for his mental illness. After his release, he retreated to one room in his house, rigged up a fishing line with beads and wind chimes to warn of intruders, and said that aliens were trying to capture and kill him. In the two days before the shooting, which took place in 2000 when he was 17, his parents frantically—and fruitlessly—called mental-health facilities and a lawyer in an effort to get him recommitted. . . . Yet the Arizona courts found that Clark "intentionally or knowingly" killed a police officer, convicted him of first-degree murder, and sentenced him to 25 years to life. Last week, the Supreme Court affirmed his conviction. The justices rejected the argument that Clark's right to a fair trial was violated because he wasn't allowed to offer evidence of his mental illness to counter the state's claim that he had killed the officer knowingly and on purpose.

June 2006

Rule of Law: Whose Life Is It, Anyway?

by Roger Pilon, CATO Institute

Roger Pilon is the founder and director of the Center for Constitutional Studies.

6-13-06 -- In a little-noticed decision last month, the D.C. Circuit ruled that terminally ill, mentally competent patients have a constitutional right to seek potentially life-saving drugs -- whether or not the Food and Drug Administration has given its final approval for sale. . . . The case is far from finished, however: On remand, the FDA will try to show that its prohibition is, in the jargon of such things, "narrowly tailored" to serve a "compelling governmental interest." Still, the court's reasoning in the case -- Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Development Drugs v. Eschenbach -- is rich with implications for medical freedom and constitutional jurisprudence. . . . For most of our history, as Judge Judith Rogers explained (joined by Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg), individuals were free to take whatever medication they wanted without a doctor's prescription. It was only in 1951 that Congress created a category of prescription drugs; and, in 1962, it began requiring drug companies to conduct extensive tests to ensure the efficacy of their products. That led to long delays in the release of potentially lifesaving drugs, and to the deaths of countless patients who would gladly have borne the unknown risks for a chance at life. . . . The Abigail Alliance (named after Abigail Burroughs, a 21-year-old college student who died of cancer) petitioned the FDA on behalf of its terminally ill members, seeking access to drugs that had cleared Phase I of the lengthy testing process. (That's the point at which a new drug is deemed sufficiently safe for more extensive human testing.) . . . When that effort failed, the alliance sued to stop the FDA from barring the sale of such drugs to its members. (It was joined in its action by the conservative public interest law firm, the Washington Legal Foundation.) The district court dismissed the suit, saying that under the Fifth Amendment -- which prohibits government from depriving people of life, liberty or property without due process of law -- it could find no such right as the alliance was claiming. . . . Not so, said the appeals court. It found the right -- and found it "in" the Constitution. Given the state of constitutional jurisprudence today, that was no mean feat.

FLORIDA  

Lawyers with disabilities seek their place at the Bar

Michael Pollick, Herald Tribune

6-13-06 -- Edward J. Lopacki Jr. graduated from law school in 1980. Ten years later, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. . . . "If I had MS at that time, I couldn't have gone to the law school I went to because it was simply not accessible." . . . Working from a wheelchair, Lopacki today runs a solo law practice in Bradenton. He also is a member of a Disability Independence Group, a Florida grass-roots group working to make it easier for people with disabilities to become lawyers and to practice law. . . . In conjunction with The Florida Bar, Disability Independence Group is conducting the first-ever comprehensive survey of Florida lawyers with disabilities. DIG also is running a symposium on the subject at the 2006 Annual Florida Bar Convention, scheduled to be held June 21-24 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

May 2006

FLORIDA

Florida Bar study aims to enhance experiences of disabled lawyers

Orlando Business Journal

5-18-06 -- Florida Bar members with disabilities are encouraged to participate in the first statewide survey designed to identify the nature and impact of disabilities on the practice of law. . . . The survey will also gather information on accommodations and technical assistance that would enhance the participation of attorneys with disabilities in Florida's legal community. . . . The goal is to identify ways to provide full and equal opportunities for lawyers with disabilities in Florida. Bar members must have a registered password to conduct transactional services on the Bar's Web site to access the survey. . . . The survey is a collaboration of The Florida Bar and the Disability Independence Group. It was created as a result of the Disability-Diversity Initiative, a statewide study project of 44 lawyers with disabilities conducted by DIG during 2005. The initiative was designed to enable attorneys with disabilities to identify and discuss disability issues and barriers to participation in professional and Bar activities.

MEET NANCY GOLIN AND HER FAMILY

April 2006

FLORIDA

Judge Shouts In Court, Hearing Impaired Man Sent To Jail

Video: Judge Shouts At Hearing Impaired Man, Then Jails Him

A Seminole County judge shouted at a hearing impaired man in court, and then ordered him to jail as he awaited trial for a misdemeanor charge. . . . 55-year-old Daniel Bradshaw is facing a marijuana charge, but was locked up, after Judge Ralph Eriksson determined Bradshaw was wasting the court's time last Thursday. . . . "Do you understand that? Do you understand that?," said Eriksson. "Well yes, I understand, but can I ask a question," said Bradshaw.. . . During the plea hearing, Bradshaw, who was free awaiting trial, questioned the judge about the legal proceedings. A public defender informed the judge the man had hearing problems.

March 15, 2006

VIRGINIA

Closed courthouse

Westmoreland spending $140,000 on new judge's office, but still falls short of meeting handicapped-accessibility requirements.

.By Frank Delano

Circuit Judge George Mason III's new $140,000 office on the second floor of Westmoreland County's old courthouse will have almost everything when he moves in a few weeks from now. . . . For security, the office has $7,000 worth of bullet-resistant glass in its 10 windows, a closed-circuit television system and a 350-pound, electrically operated, bullet-proof door. . . . Inside, there are cable-television hookups and elegant cherry doors, chair railings and crown moldings. Mason has selected "white chocolate" as the paint color for the walls. . . . When the paint dries, 940 square feet of carpet with the "highest commercial performance rating" will be installed along with 1,560 square feet of new tile on nearby areas. The floor coverings will cost $8,863. . . . Then a Richmond company will deliver new furniture costing $19,537. Mason will sit at a $2,300 walnut desk beside a $2,079 credenza. Visitors will sit on three $419 Presidential Guest Chairs or, perhaps, on a $375 mahogany loveseat.. . . But one thing Mason's new second-floor office in Montross will not have is access for the handicapped. .. . . It is 20 steps up from the old courthouse's first floor, where the offices and records of Circuit Court Clerk Gwynne Chatham are located. . . . The clerk's office is also inaccessible to handicapped residents. . . . Years after the enactment of federal and state laws guaranteeing handicapped access to public buildings, Westmoreland County has yet to build a ramp for citizens in wheelchairs. They are stopped by three steps at one door of the old courthouse and four steps at another. . . . The courthouse also lacks parking, pathways and other modifications required under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

March 9, 2006

CALIFORNIA

California Family and Disabled Daughter Head for US Supreme Court

An adult disabled child removed from parents’ care, was confined illegally and subsequently injured while in state care. The parents were denied the right to represent her in a suit against her state conservators.

(PRWEB) -- The parents of an 35-year old adult autistic woman have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a Ninth circuit civil rights lawsuit that denied them the right to represent their daughter.

Their attorney, Gerard Wallace, stated, “The courts are saying that challenges to the legality of Nancy’s removal and confinement can only be pursued by those who are confining her. This is the same as saying that only the jailors of criminal defendants can challenge the legality of their arrests and prosecutions. Barring the natural guardians of disabled persons from representing them in suits against their jailors means that the disabled have no where to turn for help.”

The Golin case raises issues similar to Anna Nicole Smith's case, Marshall v. Marshall (04-1544). Both involve the scope of the "probate exception" that would arguably prevent federal jurisdictional matters related to state probate matters from being heard by federal courts. Like the Smith case, the Ninth Circuit raised in part similar issues to deny the Golins a hearing in federal court on their civil rights issues.

February 10, 2006

Disability Advocates: Poutre Investigation Must Look Beyond DSS

Not Dead Yet, the national disability rights group, is calling for an investigation into the allegedly shoddy medicine that led to a court order for the removal of life-support from Haleigh Poutre just days after her admission with a severe brain injury. She is now responsive and interactive four months after being declared "virtually brain dead" and in an "irreversible coma." If the court order had not been appealed, Haleigh Poutre would now be dead.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) -- Not Dead Yet, the national disability rights group, is calling for an investigation into the allegedly shoddy medicine that led to a court order for the removal of life-support from Haleigh Poutre just days after her admission with a severe brain injury. She is now responsive and interactive four months after being declared "virtually brain dead" and in an "irreversible coma." If the court order had not been appealed (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Docket #SJC-09629), Haleigh Poutre would now be dead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We hate to say we told you so...
Yet another case
Pamela F. Hennessy

Throughout the past few years of being active in the campaign to protect the life and basic rights of Terri Schiavo, I've been fortunate enough to meet a number of learned and thoughtful people in and around the disabled community. . . . Of those, a number of esteemed journalists, advocates and attorneys repeatedly called for a halt to the forced dehydration of Schiavo, based both on the grave injustice to her such an action would affect and on the shockwaves that would be felt throughout our country's communities of vulnerable persons. Since Schiavo's court-ordered death, several similar cases have come into public view -- in Florida and from beyond the state's borders. Of these cases, none have more plainly proven the points of Schiavo's supporters than that of Haleigh Poutre.

Brief of Amici Curiae In Re Guardianship of Theresa Marie Schiavo