Disability Law

Are loud restaurants an ADA violation for people with hearing impairment?

People with hearing impairment can have difficulty understanding speech in a noisy restaurant, even with hearing aids. Noise also poses a problem for people with ringing in their ears and noise-induced pain, which can intensify with exposure. Does the noise violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, which bars places of…

Jun 19, 2019 9:18 AM CDT

4th Circuit reinstates suit against restaurant that barred boy from eating his own gluten-free meal

A federal appeals court has reinstated a disability lawsuit filed on behalf of a boy who was not allowed to eat his home-prepared, gluten-free meal at a restaurant in Colonial Williamsburg during a field trip. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Richmond, Virginia, ruled Friday in a 2-1…

Jun 4, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

State appeals judge challenged biases as first person with cerebral palsy to argue before SCOTUS

Nobody, except my mother, perhaps, thought I could become a lawyer. I was born in 1963 with cerebral palsy, which, even after many surgeries and much physical therapy, left me with only one functioning arm and a severe speech impediment.

Jun 1, 2019 1:40 AM CDT

For law firms on the web, online accessibility for the disabled is good business

As legal services providers update their technology and grow their online footprints, they should build and use technology that is accessible to the broadest number of people, and that also includes people with disabilities.

May 21, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

In this state, almost all juveniles in detention facilities have at least 1 psychiatric diagnosis

In many school districts in New Mexico, juveniles with disabilities are disproportionately referred to police, according to an analysis of federal data by an investigative reporting group. At least 29 of the 44 school districts that referred students to police during the 2015-16 school year disproportionately referred students with disabilities,…

May 14, 2019 1:55 PM CDT

Public defender had PTSD from representing sex offenders, EEOC says in disability suit

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit claiming that the Defender Association of Philadelphia discriminated against a public defender who experienced mental health issues partly from representing sex offenders. The suit, filed April 26 in federal court in Philadelphia, claims that the association violated the Americans with Disabilities…

May 1, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

A ‘budding bromance’? These 2 justices mostly agree in SCOTUS decisions so far

The U.S. Supreme Court’s newest justice, Brett M. Kavanaugh, has sided with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in all but one of 25 official decisions. USA Today notes the justices’ agreement and says the “budding bromance” has stalled the anticipated conservative takeover of the court. Roberts has been the…

Apr 8, 2019 2:20 PM CDT

As America’s population ages, demand for elder law attorneys grows

Updated: As the U.S. population continues to get older, more attorneys are entering the field of elder law or expanding their practice to provide elder law services.

Mar 27, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

How the Americans with Disabilities Act could change the way the nation’s jails and prisons treat addiction

Before Geoffrey Pesce got on methadone, his addiction to heroin and oxycodone nearly destroyed him: He lost his home, his job, custody of his son—and his driver’s license. So even after he began to rebuild his life, Pesce relied on his parents to drive him to a methadone clinic for his daily dose. One day last July, his mother was unexpectedly unavailable, and desperate not to relapse, he drove himself.

Feb 8, 2019 6:30 AM CST

With $1M donation, this law school plans to build pipeline of lawyers who have disabilities

Federal judges and elected officials make decisions based on personal experience, which is why former House Rep. Tony Coelho of California, who has epilepsy, would like to see more people with identified disabilities in those positions. He recently donated $1 million to Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for a…

Feb 6, 2019 12:55 PM CST

Ex-inmate’s suit claims 20 years of solitary confinement amounted to torture

A mentally ill Illinois man sent to prison for violating probation after stealing a hat and a $1 bill has filed a lawsuit claiming the 20 consecutive years he served in solitary confinement amounted to torture.

Jan 7, 2019 7:00 AM CST

This lawyer’s blindness led him to a tech-focused law practice

Looking back, I was extremely fortunate but too oblivious to realize it. When interviewing for associate positions, I was usually asked, “How can you practice law being blind?” I think most who asked that question didn’t have a clue. At the time, however, I thought they were just asking for my strategy.

Jan 1, 2019 2:40 AM CST

Auer deference precedent targeted by business groups may be overturned by SCOTUS

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether to overrule two cases requiring courts to defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of its own ambiguous regulation. The concept is known as Auer deference, named after one of the cases that the court is being urged to overturn, Auer…

Dec 10, 2018 1:26 PM CST

Following contempt finding in accommodation lawsuit, LSAC ordered to pay attorney fees

After finding the Law School Admission Council in contempt for violating a consent decree regarding disability accommodations on the Law School Admission Test, a federal magistrate on Monday ordered the organization to pay $480,489 in attorney fees. The finding was sought by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing,…

Nov 9, 2018 1:34 PM CST

Judge’s ADA suit alleges court employees withheld key to restroom, wore hazmat suits after accident

A city court judge in White Plains, New York, has filed a disability discrimination suit that claims court employees withheld a key to a nearby restroom, dragged their feet in installing railings for stairs to the bench, and had a “hysterical reaction” when she was unable to make it to…

Oct 24, 2018 10:56 AM CDT