Disability Law

Suspect in Shooting of Giffords and Judge Roll Web-Searched Assassins Before Massacre, Officials Say

Suspected in what officials consider a political assassination, Jared Loughner was looking for information about lethal injections and assassinations prior to shooting U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 other individuals&mdash including federal distritc Judge John Roll&mdash in Tucson, Ariz., earlier this month. “He was looking at websites related to lethal…

Jan 26, 2011 11:02 PM CST

9th Circuit Rules Blind Law Grad Can Use Computer Aids, Despite Hacking Fears

A blind UCLA law grad should able to take the California bar exam using computer equipment that gives her the best chance of passing, a federal appeals court has ruled. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Stephanie Enyart should be able to use special equipment that…

Jan 5, 2011 2:57 PM CST

Sign Skills Help Criminal Defense Lawyer Win Business, Explain and Comply with Deaf Culture

Having become fluent as a youngster in American Sign Language has helped a young criminal defense attorney with normal hearing acquire clients. Although she has been licensed to practice only a little over a year, Amber Farrelly Elliott, 34, is routinely appointed to represent all deaf clients in class A…

Jan 3, 2011 6:34 PM CST

Suit by Fired Associate Claims Dechert’s Macho Culture Punished Paternity Leave

A Dechert associate claims he was fired partly because of the firm’s macho culture. Former Boston associate Ariel Ayanna claims the law firm retaliated against him for taking paternity leave and derided him for being the primary caretaker of his children, the National Law Journal reports. Ayanna took on additional…

Dec 16, 2010 12:26 PM CST

Breyer: Would Court-Eating Dog Excuse Late Deadline?

In oral arguments on Monday, Justice Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg explored ways to allow the wife of a schizophrenic veteran who missed a filing deadline to pursue his appeal for additional disability benefits. Lawyers for David Henderson, who died shortly before the case was argued, claimed his…

Dec 7, 2010 4:39 PM CST

Supreme Court to Consider Impact of Blown Deadline by Schizophrenic Veteran

A Korean War veteran with paranoid schizophrenia died less than two months before oral arguments in his case before the U.S. Supreme Court, but today the justices will consider the legal issues anyway. The court will consider whether a blown deadline bars the disability benefits appeal by veteran David Henderson,…

Dec 6, 2010 11:30 AM CST

Multimillionaire Spent Minimally as His Guardians, Trustees, Lawyers & Others Got $50M

Ugo di Portanova is still worth about $65 million. But the partially incapacitated Texas man has lost about $50 million, since he was first stripped of control of his money in 1967, in the form of fees and other distributions paid out to dozens of Harris County Probate Court-appointed guardians,…

Nov 29, 2010 5:57 PM CST

Lawyer with Alzheimer’s Diagnosed When His Wife Discovered Unpaid Bills

By the time Arthur Packel’s wife realized he had Alzheimer’s disease, the now-retired lawyer had stopped paying their bills for some time. And she couldn’t figure out what he had done with much of the money, reports the New York Times. Now Renee Packel, 75, works as a receptionist to…

Nov 1, 2010 11:37 PM CDT

Mom of Disabled Law Student Gets Evidence, Wins Rehearing by Camping at Justice Ministry for 1 Year

Law student Antonio Meño Ortega didn’t like the way his nose looked. So he had cosmetic surgery two decades ago that left him in a coma after he was accidentally deprived of oxygen. To this day, 21 years later, he has never received any damages award for the injury because…

Oct 27, 2010 8:25 PM CDT

Baker Can’t Get Mental Health Records of Ex-Associate Who Filed ADA Claim

An Illinois federal magistrate judge denied Baker & McKenzie’s motion to compel discovery of the mental health records of an ex-associate who alleges the firm fired him in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. David Kronenberg, who was an associate at the firm in Chicago between 2004 and 2007,…

Oct 20, 2010 9:09 PM CDT

Law Firm Accused of Being ‘Mad Men’ Throwback - Requiring Heels, Then Discriminating After Injury

A law firm in Detroit created a hostile work environment for secretaries and discriminated against an executive assistant who initially injured her back while wearing required high heels, according to a lawsuit and the lawyer for the plaintiff. Denise Fitzhenry claims in a suit filed last week that her former…

Oct 18, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Lawyer Sentenced to Anger Course After Elevator Incident with Social Security Judge

A federal magistrate judge found an Oregon disability claims lawyer guilty of disorderly conduct and sentenced him to a year of probation and an anger management course after a three-year series of incidents between Daniel Bernath and a social security judge escalated into an elevator altercation at an administrative hearing…

Oct 14, 2010 4:38 PM CDT

EEOC Claims Obesity Is a Disability in Suit Filed for Fired Worker

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a suit on behalf of a woman who was fired, allegedly because of severe obesity. The fired employee, Lisa Harrison, had counseled children of mothers undergoing addiction treatment with the New Orleans office of Resources for Human Development, according to the Associated Press…

Oct 4, 2010 3:34 PM CDT

Federal Judge’s Standing Order Fines Firm $500/Day for Late Filing, Requires Explanation to Clients

A federal judge in Newark has lost patience with a New Jersey law firm’s “habitual” late filing of briefs in Social Security appellate matters. So she imposed a standing order at the beginning of the month requiring Langton & Alter to pay $500 a day for future late fillings, as…

Sep 24, 2010 8:16 PM CDT

Law Student Who Flunked Out of Florida Coastal Loses Disability Appeal

A former law student who sued Florida Coastal School of Law for failing to accommodate her depression and other disabilities has lost her federal appeal. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Judith Meisenhelder, who suffered from depression, migraine headaches…

Sep 15, 2010 1:00 PM CDT