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 AIM and Yahoo! ID MJeff25916 ICQ# 53522767