Groups Call for Grassroots Defense of Americans
with Disabilities Act
Supreme Court case highlights ongoing threat to law’s
protections for people with disabilities, say advocates
(Washington, DC) - Leading national advocates for the rights of people
with disabilities are urging grassroots action on an upcoming Supreme
Court case that could have profound implications for people who are protected
by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“The ADA shields millions of Americans with disabilities from discrimination,
but its protections are only as effective as the courts will allow,” said
Ira Burnim, legal director at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. “A
negative ruling in this case could hobble future efforts to protect their
rights.”
Michael Hason M.D. was denied a medical license because he had a history
of treatment for depression. Dr. Hason sued the California Medical Board
under Title II of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination by state and
local governments. The board, a state agency, argued that it is immune
from suit under the 11th Amendment. Hason lost in U.S. District Court,
but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit overturned the decision.
The Supreme Court will probably hear Hason v. Medical Board of California in
March and issue its decision by late June. At issue is whether Congress
had the constitutional authority to subject states to suits for money
damages under Title II of the ADA. A negative ruling might suggest that
Congress did not have the power to enact many of the core protections
in Title II.
“Our position in this case is simple,” said Sharon Masling,
director of legal services at the National Association of Protection
and Advocacy Systems (NAPAS). “We believe Congress has the authority
to pass laws that protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination.”
“The stakes are high,” continued Burnim. “The court
is going to be considering the very constitutionality of the ADA.”
Hason is the latest in a series of “states’ rights” cases
heard by the Supreme Court. In those decided to date, the court has found
that Congress did not have the power to subject the states to damages
suits under various civil rights statues.
In University of Alabama v. Garrett, the court ruled that state
employees could not sue their employers for money damages under Title
I of the ADA, which bans employment discrimination. In Kimel v. Florida
Board of Regents, the court held that states are immune from suits
for damages under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. This term,
in Nevada Dept. of Human Resources v. Hibbs, the court is considering
whether states are immune from damages suits under the Family and Medical
Leave Act.
NAPAS and the Bazelon Center are urging activists to ask their state
lawmakers to support Hason’s position in the suit. The national
non-profit groups are also coordinating friend of the court briefs to
be filed on Dr. Hason’s behalf.
“We’re counting on advocates to let their states know how
important the ADA’s protections are to people with disabilities,” continued
Masling. “Briefs from the states could have a big impact on the
court’s decision.”
The state of Minnesota has plans to file a brief in support of the ADA,
but other states may join a brief in support of the states’ rights
position.
“We believe that Dr. Hason has demonstrated his ability to practice medicine
responsibly and that the medical board’s denial of a license constituted
discrimination,” added Burnim. “We’re going to argue strenuously
to ensure that his rights to legal recourse – and the rights of all people
with disabilities – are protected.”
Additional information on the case is available online at http://www.bazelon.org/hason
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The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is the nation’s
leading legal advocate for people with mental disabilities. Since its
founding in 1972, the nonprofit organization’s precedent-setting
litigation and public-policy advocacy has successfully challenged many
barriers and expanded access to public schools, workplaces, housing and
many other opportunities for community life.
The National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, Inc.
(NAPAS), is the voluntary national membership association of protection & advocacy
systems and client assistance programs. It assumes leadership in promoting
and strengthening the role and performance of its members in providing
quality legally based advocacy services. NAPAS has a vision of
a society where people with disabilities exercise self-determination
and choice and have equality of opportunity and full participation.
NAPAS believes this vision will be realized through the enactment and
vigorous enforcement of laws protecting civil and human rights.
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