LSJ 434, Winter 2010Civil and Human Rights Law for Disabled People

LSJ 434, Winter 2010Civil and Human Rights Law for Disabled People

Course description

Instructor:
Sherrie Brown, J.D., Ed.D.
Research Professor, College of Education
Adjunct Faculty, School of Law
University of Washington
South Building, Room 102
206- 685-4010

Office Hours: By Appointment

Course Overview:

Although societies around the world are increasingly recognizing that disabled people do have rights, most academic courses on human or civil rights do not cover discrimination on the basis of disability. This course is designed for students who are interested in expanding their knowledge of civil and human rights for disabled people including the American perspective as well as various international models.

We will examine the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the American civil rights model in some detail, review the relevant United Nations International Human Rights treaties and documents that relate to people with disabilities, examine examples of other disability rights models around the world, and discuss—as time allows—select issues concerning disability rights.

Course Objectives:

On completion of this course you will, through written, verbal, sign and/or other forms of communication, be able to:

1. Define human rights, civil rights and the complexities inherent in our western legal analysis of these concepts when applied to the rights of disabled individuals.
2. Describe the legal treatment of disabled people in American history including the development of the civil rights movement for disabled people.
3. Identify and describe the major international human rights instruments and American civil rights laws concerning disabled people.
4. Compare and contrast other models of "rights" laws for disabled people with the American model.
5. Demonstrate a working knowledge of the course materials through successful completion of weekly written assignments, case briefs, and a group research presentation.

Methods:

The course content will be presented through lecture, assigned readings, class discussion, and student presentations.

You are expected to actively participate in class discussions and in addition, will be assigned responsibilities with others in small groups for assigned case presentations. You will also be evaluated on weekly written assignments and a group or individual research presentation. If you are uncomfortable talking in a group setting, please talk with me during the first week of the quarter rather than waiting until your grade has suffered.

Students with disabilities need not disclose. To request academic accommodations due to disability; please contact Disability Resources for Students (DRS), 448 Schmitz, 206-543-8924.

Course Texts:

We are reading selections from a variety of books. I have asked you to purchase one—Everyday Law for Individuals with Disabilities by Ruth Colker and Adam Milani—as you will be reading extensively in the book and it is a valuable resource for the case briefing that you will be doing in the course. All additional required readings and supplementary materials are available on the course website in accessible formats.

Class Assessments and Grading:

There are a total of 400 points for the course. The points are assigned as indicated below:

Participation (50)
Weekly Exercises (18 total) (180) 10 pts/exercise
Case Brief and Discussion (70) 30/brief & 40/discussion
Group Research Presentation (100) 50/summary, 40/presentation, & 10/group research summary

THERE IS NO FINAL IN THIS CLASS.

Participation:

Please read the assigned material prior to class and be prepared to discuss the question(s) distributed. Participation is worth 50 points. It is hard to participate in a discussion if you are not in class…so I expect to see you regularly. Life gets in the way at times, but if you know you will be out more than a week, please email and let me know.

Weekly Exercises (Reading Assignments):

There are assigned readings for each of the class meetings; these are indicated on the schedule. At the end of each week (or earlier) questions that relate to the assigned readings for the following week will be posted on the website. During most weeks, your weekly exercise is to provide a short (1 page single spaced maximum) response to the daily questions. Each assignment is due to me in hard-copy at the beginning of the class for which they are assigned. These questions will be the focus of our class discussions each session and therefore a maximum of 1/2 credit (5 pts) is given if you turn the assignment in late. The range for grading is as follows: ten (10) points for thorough, thoughtful response that meets the page limitations; seven points (7) for answering adequately; five (5) points for answering partially; to zero (0) points for either not turning assignment in and/or clearly not reading the material.

Some weeks you will not turn in answers to questions, but instead will have an alternative exercise—e.g., a case brief, chapter summary or analysis of a case hypothetical—to turn in. There are 18 assignments in total – a combination of questions from the readings, case briefs, and case hypotheticals.

Case Brief and Discussion:

You will learn how to "legally" read and "brief" legal decisions in this course. We will spend one class on useful approaches to dissecting court opinions, determining what's legally relevant, and what principles are important for future cases. As we study the ADA, you will all read 2-3 assigned cases a week. The first case listed for reading on the schedule is the one that everyone reads and briefs for a grade—this is in lieu of the weekly exercises described above. The other cases listed on the schedule are the ones that the assigned small groups will brief and then lead the discussion in class. All of you are expected to read these cases also, but you will not be required to turn in written briefs for a grade. The group brief and discussion assignment is worth 70 points. Everyone in the group gets the same grade. Therefore, if you are allergic to group work, please talk with me the first week of the quarter to arrange an individual case assignment.

Group Research Presentation:

American law has a lot to learn from other countries. Therefore, in addition to studying the United Nations international law as applied to disabled individuals, one of the objectives of this course is to investigate disability laws from other countries and compare and contrast them with the American and United Nations approaches. In small groups of 4-5 students, you select a country and research the disability law. You can do an overview of the disability law or focus on one aspect—i.e., disability law in employment situations. NOTE: you must do a bit of preliminary work first to determine where disability laws exist.

You will prepare a presentation for the class on your findings, including a comparison/contrast with both the American model and the UN approach. As part of the presentation, brief summaries of your findings, including the references you have used (maximum 2 pages narrative or detailed outline and the references), should be prepared for distribution to students. We will discuss this more as the quarter progresses, but the small groups will be assigned the second week of the quarter and you will have 15 minutes of class time to meet on Wednesday, January 13. The first due date is February 1—groups must have selected a country to research by that date and turned it into me during class or via email. The outline of the presentation and resources used is due to me on February 17. We are not going to duplicate countries, so first come first serve. Examples of topics/countries from previous years include:

• Disability Law in New Zealand
• Hungary Act XXVI of 1998
• Swedish Disability Law
• Disability Rights for Deaf Germans

There are 100 points available for this assignment. The 2 page summary is worth 50 points, the presentation/discussion worth 40 points. Again, everyone in a group gets the same grade for the summary and the presentation/discussion. There is an individual grade worth 10 points that is earned by satisfactory completion of a "Group Research Experience Summary." This summary is a one-page narrative of how your group approached the task—chose a topic, assigned responsibilities—and what grade you believe your group deserved.

The 2-page summary is worth 50 points, the presentation/discussion worth 40 points.

You can view examples of country presentations prepared in earlier classes here:

Hungary

Iran

India

Jordan

Schedule & Reading Assignments

UNIT ONE: Discrimination Towards Disabled People
4 January / Course Overview/Introductions
The "Problem" of Discrimination based on Disability
Assignment #1 (In-class exercise handout)
6 January / Historical Snapshot
Reading : Forgotten Crimes
Reading : The Disability Gulag
Assignment #2 (questions on reading due January 6)
Assignment #3 (questions on film due January 11)
In class film: Willowbrook
11 January / Historical Perspective—American Disability Rights Movement
Reading : Chapter 3 "Deinstitutionalization and Independent Living" (pgs. 34-48)
from Fleischer and Zames, The Disability Rights Movement. Philadelphia:
Temple University Press (2001).
Assignment #4 (reading questions)
13 January / American Disability Rights Movement
Reading : Foreward and Chapter 6 "Disability Discrimination Law:
A Global Comparative Approach" by Teresia Degener in Disability Rights
in Europe. Oxford: Hart Publishing (2005).
Assignment #5 (reading questions)
Country Groups Assigned and Meet for 15 minutes
18 January / HOLIDAY
UNIT TWO: Addressing Discrimination with International Human Rights Law
20 January / "Human Values: The Human Being as Subject and Not Object"
Reading : Human Rights and Disability, Chapter 1 p. 13-28
Reading : Disability Rights: An American Invention – a Global Challenge by Gerard Quinn
Reading : A World Made New, preface and epilogue
Assignment #6 (reading questions)
25 January / Human Rights: the Legal Framework
United Nations Bill of Rights and Relation to Disability Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights & Disability
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Reading : Human Rights and Disability, pgs. 47-50; 53-59; 79-110; 172-178; 191-200.
Assignment #7 (reading questions)
27 January / Disabled Persons and Specific UN documents
Standard Rules in the Disability Field
Standard Rules for the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health
Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
Reading : Human Rights and Disability, pgs. 29-46
Reading : UN Convention (read preamble & articles 1-7)
Reading : UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Brief History (pages 16-18) and Purpose (Article 1) (pages 27-32) (OPTIONAL)
Assignment #8 (reading questions)
UNIT THREE: Addressing Discrimination with American Civil Rights Law
1 February / Overview of the American Legal Framework
Federal and State Statutes and Regulations
Federal Constitutional Rights
Briefing Cases—steps to follow
Reading : Chapter 4: "Groundbreaking Disability Rights Legislation: Section 504"
from Fleischer and Zames, The Disability Rights Movement. Philadelphia : Temple University Press (2201).
Reading : LaMorte on briefing cases
Assignment #9 (reading questions)
Country Choices Selections Due
3 February / Legal Analysis of Court Decisions and Legal Reasoning (Case Briefs)
Reading : Southeastern Com. College v. Davis, 442 U.S. 397 (1979)
Assignment #10 (brief of Davis )
8 February / Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA ) – Who's Covered?
Defining Disability in the Civil Rights Context
Basic structure and principles of the law
Reading : Colker page 11-19
Reading : Can Do by Michael Berube
Reading : Sutton, et. al. v. United Airlines, 527 U.S. 471 (1999)
Reading/Presentation Group #1 : Toyota v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184 (2002)
Assignment #11 (brief of Sutton)
10 February / ADA (Title I) -- Employment Discrimination
Reading : Colker pages 20-36
Reading : Chevron v. Echazabal, 536 U.S. 73 (2002).
Reading/Presentation Group #2 : U.S. Airways v. Barnett, 535 U.S. 391 (2002).
Assignment #12 (brief of Chevron)
15 February / HOLIDAY
17 February / ADA (Title II) Post-Secondary Education/State/Local Government Services
Reading : Colker chapter 4 Postsecondary Education
Reading : Olmstead v. L.C . 527 U.S. 581 (1999) (OPINION)
Reading/Presentation Group #3 : McGregor v. Louisiana State University Bd. of Supervisors, 3 F.3d 850 (5 th Cir. 1993)
Reading/Presentation Group #4 : Zukle v. Regents of the University of California , 166 F.3d 1041 (9 th Cir. 1999).
Assignment #13 (Brief Olmstead )
Country Outline Due
22 February / ADA (Title III) – Access and Accommodation
Reading : Colker Chapter 5 (Access and Accommodation)
Reading/Presentation Group #5 : Access Now, Inc. v. Southwest Airlines, Co., 227 F.Supp.2d 1312 (S.D.Fla. 2002)
Reading/Presentation Group #6 : Dudley v. Hannaford Bros. Co., 333 F.3d 299 (1 st Cir. 2003).
Assignment #14 (summary of chapter 5 (Colker))
24 February / Disability Rights Law - An International Perspective
Reading : The Globalization of Disability Rights Law
Reading : Statement of the Managers -- ADA Amendment Act of 2008
Reading : Perspectives on the UN Convention
Assignment #15 (reading questions)
UNIT FOUR: Selected International Models of Disability Civil Rights Laws
1 March / GROUP PRESENTATIONS (2)
Assignment #16 (Colker Chapter 6,7,or 8 summary)
3 March / GROUP PRESENTATIONS (2)
Assignment #17 (case hypothetical)
8 March / GROUP PRESENTATIONS (2)
Assignment #18 (case hypothetical)
10 March / GROUP PRESENTATIONS (2)
No Assignment