I started writing this blog on election day, which turned out to be very interesting by the end of it with President Trump winning both the popular and electoral votes. Of course, the next question is what does that election mean for persons with disabilities. We don’t know, but a few immediate thoughts come to
Courts Going to the Dogs
I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend. Today’s blog entry goes to the dogs literally. The blog entry talks about two different cases involving service animals and how the court system deals with them. My thanks to Prof. Leonard Sandler, clinical law professor at the University of Iowa Law School for sending along the
Is There a Remedy When a State Court Judge Discriminates Against an Individual by Reason of Their Disability
At least once a month, I get a phone call where a judge is treating a person with a disability in their courtroom in a hostile way. The person always wants to know what can be done about it and whether judges are allowed to do that. I have talked before going after the judiciary
A Pair of Related Doctrines and a Big Win for Persons with Disabilities
Today’s blog entry is a discussion of two related cases. The comes from the first case comes out of the 11th Circuit. It is Behr v. Campbell, here, and it discusses the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. That decision is a published decision decided on August 12, 2021. The second decision is Lund v. Cowan,
Does a Witness Testifying with a Service animal Violate a Defendant’s Right to a Fair Trial or Violate the Confrontation Clause?
Today’s blog entry explores the following situation. A defendant was charged with multiple counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The victim, R.L., of that abuse suffered posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as a result. She testified at trial with a service dog. The
A shot across the bow to judges and court systems
I know as a blogger, readers come to expect a regular post every week and on a certain day. In my case, everyone knows that I put up a blog on Mondays, sometime Tuesdays, as is the case today. Rarely, it is later in the week. Obviously, I missed last week. I hadn’t intended it