Court to Mull Disability Case Limits

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Court to Mull Disability Case Limits

By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer

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. 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.

The high court heard four cases in its last term involving the disabilities

law, and all four rulings went against the disabled. Justices probably will

consider the latest case early next year.

" The stakes are very, very high, " said Ruth Colker, a constitutional law

professor at the University of Ohio, who specializes in disability

discrimination.

The ruling will affect millions of disabled who use services such as state

health centers and public transportation, as well as disabled prisoners,

some people in nursing homes and students at state universities, she said.

, 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, " wrote in

court filings.

Around the country, state medical boards and lawyer associations under

threat of lawsuits have provided alternatives to people with disabilities.

For example, disabled students may be given extra time to pass board exams.

At issue for the Supreme Court is whether states have constitutional

protection from the suits.

The case puts the court in the middle of another dispute over states rights.

Justices have split 5-4 in a series of federalism cases that limited

Congress' power.

Chai Feldblum, a law professor at town University, said justices will

consider whether Congress had enough evidence of unconstitutional

discrimination against the disabled when it drafted the law in 1990. The

court can strike down part of the law if it believes there was insufficient

evidence.

" This case is simply another step in a slow but consistent trend on the part

of this court to cut back congressional power. They have been engaging in

that effort in a very deliberate fashion. This case presents the next

logical step, " Feldblum said.

The federal government can pursue lawsuits when it believes states are

violating ADA.

The case is Medical Board of California v. Hason, 02-479.