Top Court rules in favor of ADA

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ADVOCACY NEWS ALERT

Top Court rules in favor of ADA

The Supreme Court upheld the rights of people with disabilities,

ruling yesterday that Lane, a paraplegic who crawled up

the steps of a small-town courthouse, can sue over the lack of

an elevator.

A 5-4 majority ruled that the 1990 Americans With Disabilities

Act gives private citizens the right to seek money in court if

a state fails to live up to the law's requirements.

Conversely, in previous cases, the high court has repeatedly

limited the effect of the ADA.

At issue was the right of private citizens to try to pursue alleged

violations of the ADA in federal courts. Advocates for people

with disabilities claimed that the fear of hefty damage awards

was a powerful tool to force state governments to follow the

requirements of the ADA.

The case began when Lane tried to sue the state of Tennessee

for up to $100,000 for what he claimed was humiliating treatment

that violated the ADA.

Lane crawled up the Polk County courthouse steps once for an

appearance in a reckless driving case, but was arrested in 1996

for failing to appear in court when he refused to crawl a second

time.

The state argued that Lane's constitutional rights were not violated

and that he had no right to take the state to court. The state

claimed that Congress went too far in writing the ADA, because

the Constitution says a state government cannot be sued in federal

court without its consent.

The case is Tennessee v. Lane, 02-1667.

For more information:

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/17may20041215/www.supremecourtus.gov/opi\

nions/03pdf/02-1667.pdf