Disability Law

Blind Student’s Bar Exam Battle Isn’t Over: Test Firm Seeks Emergency 9th Cir. Software Ban

A federal judge’s ruling last month that Stephanie Enyart must be allowed to use screen-reader software when taking the Multistate Bar Examination might not be the final answer for the blind law graduate. In a filing yesterday, the National Conference of Bar Examiners seeks an emergency ruling from the San…

Feb 10, 2010 10:31 PM CST

Judge, 68, Abruptly Retires; Former Court Reporter May Have Helped with Cases

When veteran court reporter Don Rymer was indicted (and eventually agreed to a plea bargain) over a missing trial transcript, it wasn’t just his own career that was adversely affected. A 68-year-old Texas judge who abruptly resigned this week after, observers say, experiencing problems with dementia, may have relied on…

Feb 4, 2010 9:59 PM CST

Would-Be Law Student Files Suit Claiming ADHD Merits More Time for LSAT

A Texas man has filed a federal lawsuit claiming he needs twice the time to take the Law School Admission Test because of his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Matthew Scott Jones of Austin says in the suit that he skipped the LSAT in September 2009 because the Law School Admissions…

Feb 4, 2010 1:59 PM CST

Judge Sides With Blind UCLA Law Grad, OKs Software to Read Bar Exam

Stephanie Enyart isn’t yet admitted in California, but the University of California-Los Angeles School of Law grad has already won what presumably is her first case. A federal judge in San Francisco ruled today that Enyart, who is blind, has a right to use the screen-reader computer software she wants…

Jan 30, 2010 12:00 AM CST

Blind Law Grad Sues Over Bar Exam’s Human, Rather than Computer, Readers

A blind graduate of UCLA law school plans to take the bar exam in February, and she hopes she will be able to use a computer program that reads the text aloud. The State Bar of California allows use of the computer assisted reader for its section of the exam,…

Jan 6, 2010 6:53 PM CST

Good Rx for Employers

If you thought keeping your office swine-flu-free was all you needed to worry about this flu season, you may be headed for a rude awakening. Labor and employment attorneys are fielding an epidemic of questions from clients about how to best inoculate themselves against liability regarding their office policies about…

Jan 2, 2010 4:20 AM CST

Lawyer Sues Quadriplegic Ex-Girlfriend for Custody of Their Baby Son

Obviously, a mother who cannot walk, feels nothing from the chest down and has only limited use of her arms faces certain challenges when caring for an infant. But are they sufficient reason for a judge to take away custody of her child? That is a central question in a…

Dec 21, 2009 6:17 PM CST

Mandatory Gym Class for Obese College Students on Shaky Legal Ground?

Lincoln University in Pennsylvania instituted a policy in 2006 requiring students with a body mass index of over 30 to take a one-credit gym class to graduate. Now that members of the class of 2010 have their final semester in sight, the policy is attracting attention. Dean James DeBoy told…

Dec 3, 2009 7:53 PM CST

Blind Law Grad Sues Bar Exam Group, Seeks OK to Use Screen Reader

Although she is legally blind, Stephanie Enyart earned her law degree with the help of software that enlarges her computer screen and converts text to audio. And, when the 32-year-old graduate of the University of California-Los Angeles School of Law asked state bar officials for permission to use the same…

Nov 24, 2009 12:10 AM CST

‘Star Associate’ Alleges Breakdown Over Work Conditions, Sues Sedgwick & Partner

A former associate in the New York office of Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold has filed a disability discrimination suit against the firm and an a partner he alleges was abusive, contending that he was driven to a breakdown with overwork and mistreatment and then abruptly fired when he had…

Nov 6, 2009 7:20 PM CST

DOJ Sues Attorney, Says Law Office Banned Service Dog, Violating ADA

The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it has filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against a Colorado attorney for allegedly barring a woman from giving a deposition in his law office because she was accompanied by her service dog. The animal, an Australian shepherd, is trained to help the…

Nov 3, 2009 11:19 PM CST

Woman Can’t Take Her Pet Monkey to Restaurants, Federal Judge Rules

A Missouri woman has lost her legal bid to have her monkey, Richard, accompany her to restaurants and other business establishments. Richard is a pet, not a service animal to the disabled, U.S. District Judge Richard Dorr ruled Wednesday, and his owner, Debby Rose, is not disabled under the Americans…

Oct 23, 2009 11:41 PM CDT

Judge Tosses Blind Lawyer’s Suit Claiming Prostitute Overcharged His Credit Card

John Peoples, a 60-year-old blind Pennsylvania lawyer, claims he was victimized twice when a Philadelphia prostitute overcharged him by $8,600. According to Peoples’ lawsuit, the woman he hired through an escort services website overbilled him on 11 different occasions, overcharging $8,600 in all, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. The suit…

Oct 2, 2009 12:59 PM CDT

Bucking a Backlog

ABA pitches in to reduce delays in resolving disability claims

Oct 2, 2009 12:30 AM CDT

Sears Roebuck Agrees to Record $6.2M ADA Settlement With EEOC

A federal judge today approved a consent decree in which Sears Roebuck & Co. agrees to a record-breaking $6.2 million settlement of an Americans with Disabilities Act case brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In an e-mail today, the EEOC says the settlement of claims that the giant retailer…

Sep 29, 2009 6:18 PM CDT