On Monday May 17, 2004, the Supreme Court supported the right of Mr. George Lane, a paraplegic who had to crawl up the stairs of a courthouse to get to a hearing, to sue the state of Tennessee.for monetary damages. Citing the past history of discrimination by states in judicial proceedings the court stated that a private citizen may sue under Title II of the ADA for monetary damages. This ruling is one of the few by the Supreme Court that ADA advocates feel reaffirms the constitutionality of the ADA. To learn more about this decision visit:
www.bazelon.org/issues/disabilityrights/lane/
To view a full copy of the decision go to:
Responding to the urging of the Bush administration The Supreme Court let stand the 6th Circuit Courts ruling that reinstated the federal governments lawsuit against Cinemark USA Inc. for discriminating against patrons in a wheelchair.
The second case involved the 9th Circuit Court which reversed a ruling by a federal judge who dismissed a lawsuit filed by three women with disabilities against Regal Cinemas that claimed the location of accessible seating caused dizziness, headaches and nausea.