For Immediate Release: January 12, 2004
Contacts: Jim Ward, ADA Watch/National Coalition
for Disability Rights, 202-661-4722
Christopher Burley, Bazelon Center, 202-467-5730 x 133
or leec@bazelon.org
Supreme Court to Hear Key Disability Rights Case
Advocates Call
for “Access to Justice” in Tennessee v. Lane and Jones
WASHINGTON, DC—The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow
in State of Tennessee v. George Lane and Beverly Jones, a case that
could severely limit enforcement of key provisions in the Americans with Disabilities
Act
(ADA) that protect millions of people with disabilities from discrimination
by public entities in courtrooms, schools, health care and other areas.
“Access to justice is a fundamental right of all Americans,” said
Jim Ward, president of ADA Watch, a national coalition representing disability
rights advocates. “Today we call on the Supreme Court to do its duty
to protect that right for people with disabilities by upholding Title II of
the ADA.”
Plaintiffs in the case are George Lane and Beverly Jones. Lane and Jones,
who both have mobility impairments, sued Tennessee for failing to ensure that
courthouses are accessible to individuals with disabilities. Jones worked
as
a court reporter.
Lane was a defendant in a criminal case. Both were denied access to courtrooms
on the second floors of buildings that lacked elevators. The state arrested
Lane for failure to appear in court when he refused to crawl or be carried
up the stairs.
“It’s outrageous that anyone should be denied their dignity because
a state like Tennessee fails to comply with the ADA. It’s even more outrageous
that some states would argue the law never should have applied to them in the
first place,” continued Ward. “The ADA is one of the most important
civil rights laws in the history of this country, but unless it’s enforced,
it might as well be just another piece of paper.”
At issue in the case is whether Congress had the authority to allow state
and local governments to be sued for money damages for violating Title II of
the ADA. Title II protects millions of Americans with disabilities from discrimination
in access to public facilities and the provision of public services.
Advocates fear that a negative ruling might diminish the ability of people
with disabilities to enforce their civil rights in court and that the Court’s
ruling might further weaken the ADA, which has faced numerous challenges in
recent years.
“If you keep swinging an axe at a tree, it’s bound to fall. We
hope this Court won’t go down in history as the one that struck down
the ADA,” said Jennifer Mathis, a staff attorney with the Bazelon Center
for Mental Health Law, a Washington-based legal advocate for people with mental
disabilities.
Former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and Representative Steny Hoyer
(D-MD) joined representatives from ADA Watch, the Bazelon Center, the National
Council
on Disability, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Tennessee Disability
Coalition and other advocates at a Capitol Hill press conference in support
of Lane and Jones earlier today.
“This case isn't just about abstract legal theory," said Jeff Rosen,
general counsel and director of policy at the National Council on Disability
(NCD), an independent federal agency making recommendations to the President
and Congress on disability policy. "The Court's decision in this has the
potential to rob millions of people of their ability to enforce their rights.”
Thirty-seven advocacy and professional organizations filed briefs in support
of the plaintiffs, as did 10 states (see list below). Seven states filed briefs
in support of Tennessee’s position that Congress lacks to authority to
allow states to be sued for money damages under Title II.
"Fifty years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, it is sad
that we are still arguing about whether the federal government has an appropriate
role in protecting the civil rights of its citizens when the State is responsible
for violating those rights," said Andrew J. Imparato, president and CEO
of the American Association of People with Disabilities.
Disability rights activists plan to crawl up the stairs to the Supreme Court
at 9:00 AM Tuesday morning in a symbolic show of support for the plaintiffs.
Advocates also planned rallies Tuesday in Memphis, Tennessee; Austin, TX; San
Diego, CA; Sacramento, CA and other cities across the country.
“This case is important not just because it threatens to gut the ADA,
preventing millions of people with disabilities from enforcing their rights,
but also because it is the latest attack in an aggressive campaign by extremist
conservatives in recent years to weaken federal civil rights protections for
all Americans, under the notion of states' rights,” said Nancy Zirkin,
deputy director and director of public policy at the Leadership Conference
on Civil Rights, a leading national civil rights coalition.
The case is No. 02-1667. Briefs in the case are available online at http://www.bazelon.org/lane.
A decision is expected sometime this summer.
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ADA Watch is a project of the National Coalition for Disability Rights,
an alliance of hundreds of disability, civil rights and social justice organizations
united to protect and promote the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For more information, please see www.adawatch.org.
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is the nation's leading legal
advocate for people with mental disabilities. For more information, please see www.bazelon.org
States Filing a Brief in Support of Lane and Jones (10)
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Paralyzed Veterans of America
- People For The American Way Foundation
- The Puerto Rican legal Defense and
Education Fund
- Tennessee Disability Coalition
- United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc.
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