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Subject:
From:
Michael Jeffries <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List
Date:
Mon, 18 Nov 2002 18:23:03 EST
Content-Type:
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Court to Mull Disability Case Limits

By GINA HOLLAND
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review a case that could
block the millions of disabled Americans who use state accommodations from
suing over such complaints as inaccessible polling places or hard-to-use
public transportation.

The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act forbids discrimination against the
disabled and requires governments to provide ``services, programs or
activities'' to those with special needs.

The high court has narrowed the scope of the law repeatedly and could use a
mentally ill California doctor's case to dramatically limit lawsuits under
it.

Last year, the court ruled that state workers cannot use the ADA to win
damages for on-the-job discrimination. California asks the court to go much
further and shield states from lawsuits filed by the disabled over
accommodations.

The state was sued by Dr. Michael Hason after the California Medical Board
turned him down for a license because he suffers from clinical depression. He
argued that the licensing board should have accommodated his disability by
offering him a probationary license that required him to get psychotherapy or
other help.

Justices probably will consider the case early next year.

``The stakes are very, very high,'' said Ruth Colker, a law professor at the
University of Ohio, who specializes in the ADA.

The ruling will affect millions of the disabled, who use services such as
state health centers and public transportation, as well as disabled
prisoners, people in nursing homes and students at public universities, she
said.

Joel Davis, a deputy attorney general in California, said states have a right
to determine qualified doctors without federal interference.

``The very purpose of California's Medical Board is to protect the public,
not to provide a `service' for the benefit of applicants,'' Davis wrote in
court filings.

The high court heard four cases in its last term involving the landmark
Americans with Disabilities Act, and all four rulings went against the
disabled.

Hason claims he was treated differently not only because of his illness, but
also because he was from New York and new to California. A psychiatrist told
the board that Hason should be allowed to practice medicine, and he poses no
danger to patients.

Hason's lawyer, Erwin Chemerinsky, said lower courts are divided on whether
suits should be allowed.

At issue for the Supreme Court is whether states have constitutional
protection from the lawsuits.

No matter how the court resolves that matter, the federal government can file
lawsuits when it believes states are violating ADA.

The case is Medical Board of California v. Hason, 02-479.

On the Net: Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov



11/18/02 17:48 EST


"Long ago and far away, We had a voice, you know that we had a say, We won't
live for yesterday, Ready or not, we're gonna have our way"

Twisted Sister  Wake Up (the sleeping giant)
http://www.deesnider.com/twisted/albums/lyrics/zwake.html

Michael Jeffries
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