For Immediate Release: November 12, 2003

Contact: Christopher Burley, Bazelon Center, 202-467-5730 x 133 or leec@bazelon.org

Supreme Court to Review Americans with Disabilities Act

Ruling Could Shield States from Anti-Discrimination Suits

State of Tennessee v. George Lane and Beverly Jones online briefing center Read Briefs in the Case Fast Facts: Who filed briefs? Bazelon Center Issues Page: Civil Rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act

WASHINGTON, DC—Plaintiffs’ briefs will be filed today in State of Tennessee v. George Lane and Beverly Jones, a Supreme Court case that could have a profound impact on enforcement of anti-discrimination laws for people with disabilities.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act is critical to fighting discrimination, but states like Tennessee keep trying to knock its teeth out,” said Samuel Bagenstos, an attorney representing the plaintiffs. “The wrong ruling in this case could rob people with disabilities of one of the most important means to enforce their rights and call into question the very notion that the federal government has the power to make states respect those rights.”

At issue in the case is whether Congress had the constitutional authority to require states to pay money damages for violations of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities by state and local government agencies. A negative ruling might suggest that Congress did not have the power to enact many of the core provisions of Title II and diminish plaintiffs' ability to enforce their civil rights in court.

While the Supreme Court has issued several decisions in recent years that limit the ADA’s scope, the Lane case involves a challenge to the very underpinnings of the law. In Board of Trustees of University of Alabama v. Garrett, the Supreme Court held that Congress had no power to lift states' immunity to suit under the ADA's employment provisions. The Court’s decision in Lane could limit the law even further by curtailing enforcement of the ADA’s protections against discrimination in public services, programs and activities.

“We’re extremely worried about the effect the Court’s ruling could have,” said Jennifer Mathis, an attorney at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, a civil rights group for people with mental disabilities. “The ADA has been seriously eroded by recent decisions. A boat can only spring so many leaks before it sinks.”

The Bazelon Center, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and 23 more advocacy and professional organizations filed a brief in support of the plaintiffs, George Lane and Beverly Jones.

Lane and Jones sued Tennessee for failing to ensure that courthouses are accessible to individuals with disabilities. Both plaintiffs have paraplegia and were denied access to courtrooms on the second floors of buildings that lacked elevators. Beverly Jones worked as a court reporter. George Lane was a defendant in a criminal case. The state arrested Lane for failure to appear in court when he refused to crawl or be carried up the stairs.

“This case demonstrates what happens when states believe they are exempt from federal anti-discrimination laws,” said William Brown, an attorney also representing Lane and Jones. “No one should be deprived of their dignity because a state is unwilling to accommodate their disability— not George Lane, not Beverly Jones, not anyone.”

About one in five Americans have some kind of disability, and one in 10 have a severe disability, according the U.S. Census Bureau.

“The Court’s decision in this case could take away one of the most effective tools millions of people with disabilities have to enforce their rights—damage suits,” said Sharon Masling, an attorney with the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems (NAPAS). “Damage suits can be a powerful motivator for policy changes. We’re worried what some states may be tempted to do if they don’t see discriminating against people with disabilities as a threat to their bottom line.”

NAPAS and several other advocacy groups filed amicus briefs in support of the plaintiffs. NAPAS’ brief detailed the inadequacy of state laws to address the many types of discrimination faced by people with disabilities. The American Bar Association filed an amicus brief describing how states have denied people with disabilities full access to courthouses. The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and other civil rights organizations also filed a brief in support of Jones and Lane. The National Organization on Disability, former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, the American Association of People with Disabilities and ADA Watch also filed a brief discussing the important changes the ADA has brought and the devastating impact that limiting enforcement of Title II would have.

Minnesota filed a brief in support of Lane and Jones, joined by Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin as amici curiae. Seven states—Alabama, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming—filed a brief in support of Tennessee.

The U.S. Justice Department—acting as an intervenor in the case—filed a brief defending the constitutionality of Title II.

The Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in State of Tennessee v. George Lane and Beverly Jones on January 13th, 2004. A decision is expected sometime this summer. Briefs for the case are available at the State of Tennessee v. George Lane and Beverly Jones online briefing center.

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The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is the leading national legal advocate for people with mental disabilities. Through precedent-setting litigation and in the public policy arena, the Bazelon Center works to advance and preserve the rights of people with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities.

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.

States Filing a Brief in Support of Lane and Jones (10)

• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• New Mexico
• New York
• Vermont
• Washington
• Wisconsin

States Filing a Brief in Support of Tennessee (7)

• Alabama
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Utah
• Wyoming

Organizations Filing a Brief in Support of Lane and Jones

• AARP
• ADAPT*
• ADA Watch
• American Association on Mental Retardation
• American Association of People with Disabilities
• American Bar Association
• American Council of the Blind
• American Diabetes Association
• American Occupational Therapy Association
• American Psychiatric Association
• The Arc of the United States
• Anti-Defamation League
• Association on Higher Education and Disability
• Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
• Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Blanche Fischer Foundation
• Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
• Easter Seals
• Epilepsy Foundation of America
• Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.
• Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
• NAACP
• NAMI (formerly the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill)
• National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium
• National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy
• National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
• National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems
• National Council on Independent Living
• National Health Law Program
• National Mental Health Association
• National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse
• National Multiple Sclerosis Society
• National Organization on Disability
• National Spinal Cord Injury Association*
• Paralyzed Veterans of America
• People For The American Way Foundation
• The Polio Society*
• The Puerto Rican legal Defense and Education Fund
• Tennessee Disability Coalition
• United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc.

*Joined by letter