Request for Information on Courthouse Accessibility -- for Tennessee v. Lane, U.S. Supreme Court
August 2003

Ira Burnim, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Sharon Masling, Nat. Assoc. of Protection and Advocacy Systems

Issue in the Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken another case challenging the constitutionality of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). At issue is whether Congress has the constitutional authority to require states to pay money damages for violations of Title II of the ADA. A negative ruling might suggest that Congress did not have the power to enact many of the core provisions of Title II.

Plaintiffs George Lane and Beverly Jones, both with paraplegia, sued Tennessee for failing to ensure that courthouses are accessible to individuals with disabilities. Both plaintiffs were denied access to courtrooms on the second floors of buildings lacking elevators. One plaintiff, Beverly Jones, worked as a court reporter. The other, George Lane, was a defendant in a criminal case. The state arrested Lane for failure to appear when he refused to crawl or be carried up the stairs.

Since the decision in University of Alabama v. Garrett, which held that individuals could not sue the state for money damages under the employment provisions of the ADA, the federal appellate courts have been split over whether individuals can sue the state for money damages under ADA Title II, he majority view being that they cannot.

Information Needed - Courthouse Accessibility Problems

Brief writers in the case are seeking information on court house access problems nationwide experienced by persons with disabilities, including as judges, lawyers, parties to a civil or criminal case, jurors, witnesses, crime or domestic violence victims, courthouse personnel, or individuals accessing courthouse-based offices of state, county or local public agencies.

Brief writers seek especially:

1. Published reports -- by government agencies, public interest groups, journalists, or others -- detailing courthouse access problems at the state and local level. Self-evaluations performed by the state might have such information.
2. Statistical information about the number of lawsuits brought to challenge courthouse access problems in your jurisdiction, favorable results in such lawsuits (by judgment or settlement - in an officially citable form if possible), and the number of complaints public or advocacy agencies have received about courthouse access problems.
3. "Horror stories" about denial of courthouse access - stories that would shock judges or lay people. It would be best if these are described in judicial opinions, pleadings, or published reports or articles that could be cited.
4. State statutes or court decisions that deny people with disabilities or a class of people with disabilities the right to serve on juries.

Please send such information to: Sharon Masling, Director of Legal Services, National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, at Materials available only in hard copy can be faxed to 202-408-9520 or mailed to 900 Second Street, NE, Suite 211, Washington, DC, 20002. If possible, please send in your information by August 22, 2003.

A Note on States as Supreme Court Amici

The Minnesota Attorney General is planning to file a brief in support of plaintiffs and will be soliciting support from other state Attorneys General. We expect that some states will file a "states' rights" brief in support of Tennessee.

Please encourage your Attorney General to support the ADA and sign on to the Minnesota brief. (Joining Minnesota in Hason, a prior case which raised the same issue, were Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.) If your state is reluctant to join Minnesota, it would be best if it stayed neutral and did not join Tennessee's amici.

Ira A. Burnim
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
1101 15th St. N.W., Suite 1212
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 467-5730 ext.129
(202) 223-0409 (fax)
E-mail Ira Burnim
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law web site

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