Oppose Pryor Nomination
June 2003

PROTECT THE ADA:
From Jim Ward and ADA Watch

Immediate Action Requested:

Dear Colleagues:
Thank your for your active opposition to the confirmation of Jeffrey Sutton to the Federal Court. While we did not stop him, your efforts led to a confirmation vote that was one of the closest in 25 years.

During that battle, we heard from many on the other side that Sutton was just a "hired gun." Well, now the man who hired Sutton to weaken the ADA in the Garrett case, Alabama Attorney General William Pryor, has also been nominated to the Court -- just one step away from the Supreme Court. Pryor's hearing is scheduled for this Wednesday and we will collect opposition statements before and following this hearing. Along with our coalition partners, we can stop this nomination. (See info on Pryor's record below).

What made a difference in the Sutton campaign were the stacks of petitions and letterheads from organizations who were opposed to confirmation. Sen. Harkin, Sen. Leahy, and others held up these documents on the floor of the US Senate to demonstrate the extent of the disability community's concern about the assault on the ADA by activist judges.

WE NEED YOUR HELP ONCE AGAIN!

1. Please reply to this email indicating that your organization is opposed to William Pryor's confirmation to the Federal Court.

2. Please FAX a short letter (on your organization's letterhead and addressed to: Sen. Hatch and Sen. Leahy) outlining your opposition to Pryor. Fax to 202- 318-4040 and we will hand-deliver it to the US Senate Judiciary Committee. Use the talking points below to craft your message.

3. Please Contact the following members of the US Senate Judiciary toll-free at 877-762-8762: Sen. Leahy, Sen. Hatch, Sen. Feinstein, Sen. Specter, Sen. Kennedy, Sen. Biden, Sen. Kohl, Sen. Edwards, Sen. Feingold, Sen. Schumer, and Sen. Durbin.

4. Please check the ADA Watch web site where we will be posting a Stop Pryor! petition as well as informational alerts.

Pryor Talking Points:

The disability community is opposed to the confirmation of Alabama Attorney General William Pryor because we do not believe a person with a disability would receive a fair hearing from a "Judge Pryor."

Why?

Pryor has demonstrated a commitment to extremism rather than to justice. Pryor's right-wing ideology is far outside the mainstream of American legal thought.

William Pryor, nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, has been a leader in the effort to limit congressional power to enact laws protecting civil rights. Pryor has prevailed in a series of 5-4 cases before the Supreme Court that have curtailed civil rights, including the Board of Trustees of Alabama v. Garrett, which successfully challenged the constitutionality of applying the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to states as employers.

Pryor argued that the protections of the ADA were "not needed" to remedy discrimination by states against people with disabilities. This decision prevents persons with disabilities from collecting monetary damages from state employers. Most significantly, it has resulted in fewer attorneys being willing to represent individuals in ADA cases against state employers. Despite the massive record of egregious conduct toward individuals with disabilities by states that Congress had compiled -- including instances of forced sterilization of individuals with disabilities, unnecessary institutionalization, denial of education, and systemic prejudices and stereotyping perpetrated by state actors -- Pryor argued that states were actually in the forefront of efforts to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities.

Pryor has led the battle to undo the work of a democratically-elected Congress to legislate federal protections for American citizens. Despite widespread bipartisan support for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Pryor said he was "proud" of his role in "protecting the hard-earned dollars of Alabama taxpayers when Congress imposes illegal mandates on our state."

Pryor is a leading architect of the recent "states' rights" or "federalism" movement to limit the authority of Congress to enact laws protecting individual and other rights. He is fighting to reverse the results of our nation's civil war and leave us with a patchwork of uneven civil rights protections dependent on an individual's zip code.

He personally has been involved in key Supreme Court cases that, by narrow 5-4 majorities, have restricted the ability of Congress to protect Americans' rights against discrimination and injury based on disability, race, and age. Worse, he has urged the Court to go even further than it has in the direction of restricting congressional authority. Just last month, for example, the Court, in an opinion by Chief Justice Rehnquist, rejected Pryor's argument that the states should be immune from lawsuits for damages brought by state employees for violation of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

More Information from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law:

Jim Ward, President
National Coalition for Disability Rights
1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 300,
Washington, DC 20004
Voice: 202.661.4722
Fax: 202.318.4040
Email Jim
ADA Watch web site

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