Disability Rights Today

For more information, resources, and transcript visit http://disabilityrightstoday.org/episodes/gil-v-winn-dixie-11th-circuit-decision-on-web-access-and-the-ada/
On April 7, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Gil v. Winn-Dixie that websites operated by businesses are not “places of public accommodation” under Title III of the ADA. Gil’s inability to access the Winn-Dixie website, due to his blindness, therefore, was not in violation of the ADA. In the court’s opinion, the company’s website, without a point of sale, did not present an “intangible barrier” to Gil’s shopping for goods and services at Winn-Dixie’s physical stores.

Please join us for this special edition of ADA Live! when Mark Riccobono, President, National Federation of the Blind, Howard Rosenblum CEO of National Association of the Deaf, Bruce Sexton, JD, plaintiff in National Federation of the Blind v. Target, and Peter Blanck, Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University discuss the impact of this decision. 

Disclaimer Note: The personal opinions expressed by guest speakers in this episode should not be understood as an endorsement by the ADA National Network, the Southeast ADA Center, or Syracuse University.

Disability Rights Today  1 : Gil v. Winn-Dixie, 11th Circuit Decision on Web Access and the ADA

In 2017, wheelchair user Dr. Scott Crawford, a retired clinical neuropsychologist, sued Hinds County, Mississippi under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as he was unable to perform jury duty in 2012 and 2015 because of the inaccessibility of the Hinds County courthouse. U.S. District Judge Tom Lee of the Southern District of Mississippi found that Crawford had proven the Hinds County courthouse was not accessible to people with disabilities. The judge also reversed his earlier ruling that Crawford had standing, finding that the possibility of being excluded from future jury duty was too speculative. On appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court, Dr. Crawford argued he has standing both as a juror and as an engaged citizen. On June 16, 2021, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court found that Dr. Crawford did, indeed, have standing.

Disability Rights Today Episode 3: Crawford v. Hinds County Board of Supervisors

For more information, transcript, and Resources visit http://disabilityrightstoday.org/episodes/episode-2-c-l-v-del-amo-hospital/
In this episode of Disability Rights Today, we focus on the court case of C.L. v. Del Amo Hospital, Inc. In this case, the plaintiff C.L., had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions. She obtained a dog, with the intent to train the dog, Aspen, to be a service animal. While seeking inpatient treatment at Del Almo Hospital, the plaintiff’s dog was denied admission because her dog was not deemed a service animal. Please join us as we welcome three of the counsel for the plaintiff in this case: Christopher Knauf, JD, Disability Rights Legal Center, Founder Knauf Associates; Jennifer Mathis, JD, Deputy Legal Director and Director of Policy and Legal Advocacy Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; and Celia McGuiness, Derby, McGuinness & Goldsmith, LLP. They are joined by Dr. Peter Blanck, JD, Director of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University for a discussion of the facts of the case, issues of the case, arguments of the case, and discussion of implications for policy and practice moving forward will be our focus.

Episode 2: C.L. v. Del Amo Hospital – 9th Circuit Ruling on Certification of Service Animals and ADA

Transcripts and Resources available at: https://disabilityrightstoday.org/episodes/episode-4/
Case Summaries

(1) CVS v. Doe concerning whether Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973—and by extension Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—provides a disparate-impact cause of action for plaintiffs alleging disability discrimination.

(2) Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller addresses whether the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the statutes that incorporate its remedies for victims of discrimination, such as the Rehabilitation Act and the Affordable Care Act, include compensation for emotional distress.

(3) United States v. Vaello-Madero. The question before the court is whether Congress violated the Fifth Amendment by establishing the Supplemental Security Income program in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Northern Mariana Islands, but not in Puerto Rico.

Our distinguished guests for this episode are Arlene Mayerson J.D. (Directing Attorney Emerita and Of Counsel, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)), Victoria Rodriguez Roldan, J.D. (Senior Policy Manager, AIDS United), and Claudia Center, J.D. (Legal Director DREDF). Our host is Dr. Peter Blanck, J.D., Ph.D., University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.

Key Words: Fifth Amendment, Supplemental Security Income, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Affordable Care Act, Disability Discrimination, Civil Rights Act of 1964

Upcoming Supreme Court Term:  Critical Cases that Could Impact the Disability Community

For more information, resources, and transcript visit https://disabilityrightstoday.org/episodes/episode-5/
On this episode of Disability Rights Today, we welcome Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, the first African American woman to sit on the Superior Court of Northern California.  She also served as Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at Stanford Law School.  Judge Cordell practiced law in East Palo Alto, CA, a low-income, African American, and Mexican American community south of San Francisco. Judge Cordell is the author of a new book, Her Honor: My Life of the Bench…What Works, What’s Broken, and How to Change it.  Of Her Honor, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich says, “With candor and insight, Judge LaDoris Cordell puts a human face of the judges who make life-changing decisions on a daily basis. She takes readers inside the courtroom, presenting stories of the people whose lives have been altered, for better or worse, by our laws and the professionals who enact them.”

Join us for this episode, as Judge Cordell shares with Dr. Peter Blanck, JD, PhD, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, her unique perspective on how our legal system works and the prejudice that pervades it.

Disability Rights Today Episode 5: An Insider’s Perspective on the Legal System

ADA Live!  is a free monthly show broadcast nationally on the Internet. Ask questions and learn about your rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Leaders in the field will share their knowledge, experience and successful strategies that increase the participation of persons with disabilities in communities and businesses.

ADA Live! is produced by the Southeast ADA Center, a member of the ADA National Network and a project of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.

Disability Rights Today 1 : Gil v. Winn-Dixie, 11th Circuit Decision on Web Access and the ADA

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