[blindlaw] BlindLaw Digest, Vol 164, Issue 3

Fri Jan 5 13:34:31 UTC 2018

Save the Date
Transatlantic Reflections:
The Promise and Realities of Human Rights for All

The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) will host a discussion with American Marshall Memorial Fellows Gary C. Norman, Esq. L.L.M. (MMF ‘08) and Kerry Thompson, Ed.M. (MMF ‘14) in recognition of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 10th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 
GMF’s distinguished alumni will reflect on human rights progress since 1948 and the future of human rights in today’s global community.  Leaders from diverse human rights initiatives will join this discussion to elevate human rights on the transatlantic agenda. 
A detailed agenda will be shared closer to the date.

	January 19, 2018, at the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. 1744 R. Street N.W.
	Join us for networking and light fare from 2:00pm – 2:30pm
	Program runs 2:30 pm – 5:00pm, followed by wine and appetizers 	

Panelists include:	

	Charlotte McClain Nhlapo, World Bank
	Charlie Kellett, U.S. Department of State
	Ann Cody, U.S. Department of State
	Katherine Guernsey, American University and disability rights lawyer
	Sheila Durant, Esq.
This discussion is the first Gary Norman and Kerry Thompson will co-facilitate during their yearlong awareness-raising series on the transatlantic partnership and emerging voices of global citizens with disabilities.  The series is in fulfillment of their alumni action initiative, “Globally Engaging Disability - Including Each, Strengthening All.”
Gary C. Norman, Esq. L.L.M.
Being this uncommonly heard person with a disability on the transatlantic stage with his third guide dog, Gary leads at the intersection of law practice, personal connectivity because of the power of partnership, and shared responsibility about disability.  He has extensive experience as a dispute resolution oriented attorney, always hoping to broker people together.  He serves on rosters as an arbitrator and as a mediator.
Kerry M. Thompson, Ed.M.
Kerry has been a lifelong activist for people with disabilities beginning as a self-advocate as a DeafBlind individual.  She is the Executive Director of Silent Rhythms, Inc., dedicated to achieving inclusion in the arts for people of all abilities. She co-created Text4Deaf, a communication tool to bridge the communication gap between the Deaf and Hearing communities in healthcare. Since 2008, she has worked to advance human rights through United Nations Conventions and the Sustainable Development Goals as part of her work with the Disability Rights Fund. She is the co-author for Human Rights and Adolescence (2014. University of Pennsylvania Press) and has written several blogs including “Hurricanes in my Backyard” and “DeafBlindness: The Lefts Behinds in a Leave No One Behind Era.” She completed a Master’s degree from Harvard University with a focus on international law and human rights.  
We look forward to welcoming you. Let us know if you require accommodations. There is an accessible entrance, requiring advance notice. 	 

Please provide your RSVP to Ms. Sara Perredda, TLIintern at gmfus.org

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Subject: BlindLaw Digest, Vol 164, Issue 3

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Today's Topics:

   1. Bar Exam Accommodations (Michal Nowicki)
   2. Re: Bar Exam Accommodations (jim at skamarakas.com)
   3. Article: Attorneys with disabilities make success accessible,
      ABA Journal, January 2018 (Nightingale, Noel)
   4. Press Release: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Rescinds 25
      Guidance Documents, Department of Justice, December 21, 2017
      (Nightingale, Noel)
   5. Article: DOJ Nixes All Pending ADA Rulemakings, Including
      Website Access Rules, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, December 22, 2017
      (Nightingale, Noel)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2018 12:32:59 -0600
From: Michal Nowicki <mnowicki4 at icloud.com>
To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [blindlaw] Bar Exam Accommodations
Message-ID: <0P210030MNIYI220 at ms11p00im-qufv17100101.me.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a great start to 2018. I am applying for the Illinois Bar Exam, and I would appreciate your input on available accommodations. I specifically would like to know if any of you requested to complete the exam over multiple days and, if so,if your request was granted.

Best Wishes for 2018,

Michal
Sent from Mail for 

------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2018 19:19:17 +0000
From: "jim at skamarakas.com" <jim at skamarakas.com>
To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Bar Exam Accommodations
Message-ID: <73B70CF4-7C33-4201-97CF-AE2524906ADA at skamarakas.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

I started this process this semester for a Spring 2018 graduation and July 2018 exam.  Advice I have gotten is to have a very detailed accommodation on file with the school to support your requests to the bar exam. The ?take it and fail then ask again? approach discussed over the past years I have read refer to that as one of the issues. If you survived law school without Accommodation A or B, how do you justify it for the bar exam.

I have it in my school accommodation only because of this discussions to know to ask for it. The physicians didn?t blink at the request being reasonable. But you have to go to them with forms filled out and knowing what to ask.

I?m still a semester and bar prep away from this, so it?s not as helpful as others who will respond with their success stories or road bumps. Bar Prep may push me to delay or take twice. I?m going at this positive and realistic. Best of luck.

Happy New Years
Jim

On Jan 4, 2018, at 1:33 PM, Michal Nowicki via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org<mailto:blindlaw at nfbnet.org>> wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a great start to 2018. I am applying for the Illinois Bar Exam, and I would appreciate your input on available accommodations. I specifically would like to know if any of you requested to complete the exam over multiple days and, if so,if your request was granted.

Best Wishes for 2018,

Michal
Sent from Mail for
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2018 22:48:59 +0000
From: "Nightingale, Noel" <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
To: "blindlaw at nfbnet.org" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [blindlaw] Article: Attorneys with disabilities make success
	accessible, ABA Journal, January 2018
Message-ID:
	<CY1PR09MB0217643BFF3C713359EF6DA5F91F0 at CY1PR09MB0217.namprd09.prod.outlook.com>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abajournal.com%2Fmagazine%2Farticle%2Fattorney_disability_success_accessible%2F%3Futm_source%3Dmaestro%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Dtech_monthly&data=02%7C01%7C%7Ce74d103cfb5a496b875d08d55433f00b%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636507504403479635&sdata=NEMLq%2FGQ1bz4DEi2%2F5CtAgnED8%2BzY1zGV2RymWYKd%2FM%3D&reserved=0

Attorneys with disabilities make success accessible

ABA Journal

January 2018

By Anna Marie Kukec

Deepinder "Deepa" Goraya of Washington, D.C., loves her work as an advocate fighting legal battles. After all, she had her share of personal battles even before she started to practice law.

Goraya was born three months premature.The incubator for her 2?-pound body pumped in too much oxygen, which caused the blood vessels behind her eyes to burst. That led to a lifetime of blindness and exposed her to inequities in the educational system. Her parents fought to keep her in neighborhood schools, while she used technology to translate her textbooks and homework to Braille or voice versions.

Goraya achieved high grades and earned a law degree from the University of Michigan. She is now a staff attorney with the Disability Rights Project of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. She also helped create the ABA Young Lawyers Division's Disability Rights Committee and is on the board of the National Association of Attorneys with Disabilities.

"Attitudes have slowly changed and improved, but we have a way to go," she says.

DRIVING INNOVATION

Goraya is among a growing number of lawyers with disabilities who have advocated for disability rights in the legal community. They have climbed the ranks to prominent jobs and helped smooth the road for the next generation. In the 50 years since the first disability rights victories were achieved in court, these lawyers have been helped by the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, emergence of new technology specifically for them, and a shift in societal attitudes, she says. (For more, see "Action for Access.")

In October, Goraya moderated an ABA panel, "Persons with Disabilities: Driving Innovation in the Workplace." The panelists said one in five Americans has a disability, and they discussed how businesses have expanded their recruiting and hiring practices for people with disabilities, who bring unique talents and skills to the fore. Those employees, in turn, help spur new approaches by providing different perspectives and through the adoption of assistive technologies.

But despite these advances, there's work to be done.

"It is important for law firms and judges in courtrooms to still be educated about the obstacles we face and the attitudinal barriers," Goraya says. "We still need an accessible building, a workable case system, wheelchair accessibility and the use of technology in the courtroom."

ADVOCATING FOR EMPLOYEES

Nicole Saunders, an assistant state's attorney in Duval County, Florida, is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair. She chairs the YLD's Disability Rights Committee.

"This has become the right path for me," says Saunders of Jacksonville. "The areas of advocacy and policy make me very passionate. I wanted to work through the law to help bring about change."

Saunders says she has not been held back at work.

"They are very accommodating. It is a nonissue," Saunders says. "I see my value and try to cultivate that."

Saunders is working on a proposal for a program on how employers can accommodate employees who have disabilities. She plans to propose it at the ABA Midyear Meeting next month, with the hope that the YLD leadership will potentially accept it for presentation. It might become a live presentation that has panelists from different fields, or it might be an online CLE program.

"A lot of times, employers know the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission laws, but they don't know how to effectively and efficiently implement them," Saunders says. "We want to create inclusion in the workplace, and sometimes employers just don't know where to start."

COMMITMENT TO INCLUSION

Anuradha "Anne" Gwal, who has a brain tumor and is partially blind, is an assistant general counsel at Exelon in Newark, Delaware, and past president of the South Asian Bar Association of North America. About 13 years ago, she had two surgeries that resulted in tunnel vision, or partial blindness.

She remains on medications to continue to treat the tumor. A new type of radiation that pinpoints the exact location to be treated helped save her life.

"I had to decide if I wanted to see or I wanted to walk," Gwal says about the surgery.

Gwal refers to her disability as invisible because no one can immediately identify it. That's why she openly discusses her condition as part of her leadership roles with the ABA and SABA North America. She is scheduled to appear on an ABA panel next month to talk about her company's inclusion efforts for people who have disabilities.

Although her company has been accepting of her medical situation and her partial blindness, Gwal knows other companies, and society in general, have a ways to go.

"Companies, law firms and law schools can find a way to help the party deal with the stigma and help them to acclimate to the company culture," Gwal says. "It's all about inclusion, and they will improve by leaps and bounds. Once we understand the disability, we can effect change."

Robert Gonzales, chair of the ABA Commission on Disability Rights, says the group has created a pledge for legal employers to sign: Disability Diversity in the Legal Profession: A Pledge for Change.

The pledge, which was introduced in 2009 and updated in 2014, asks major businesses, law firms, judges and law schools to commit to hiring people who have disabilities and to treat them with respect and dignity. The employers are provided goals and scores on how well they do.

"The pledge has had a dramatic impact on the companies and has given lawyers an opportunity they may not have had otherwise," Gonzales says. The pledge is online at ambar.org/thepledge.

Gonzales agrees with Goraya that new technology has had a major impact on lawyers who have disabilities. Many companies and organizations, including the ABA, are upgrading their websites to make them more accessible. Once the ABA website redesign is completed, lawyers with disabilities will be able to participate in webinars and other educational programs more easily.

"At the ABA, we're planning to finish the upgrades by mid-2018," Gonzales says. "Then lawyers, whether they're blind or deaf, will more easily be able to access the site like anyone else."

But many legal tech companies still have to make their products accessible to attorneys who have disabilities. When the organizers of the ABA Techshow 2016 conducted a survey of vendors, of the 79 respondents, eight could confirm that their products were accessible.

With the profession becoming increasingly reliant on technology, unless the status quo changes, attorneys who have disabilities could find themselves cut off from many opportunities.

The ABA Techshow 2017 included a workshop to help vendors meet the needs of disabled customers, but none chose to attend. The organizers are planning a series of events in conjunction with the ABA Techshow 2018, which is March 7-10 in Chicago, including an online career fair for lawyers with disabilities.

This article was published in the January 2018 issue of the ABA Journal with the title "Making Success Accessible: Attorneys who have disabilities are breaking down barriers in the legal profession."

------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2018 23:58:53 +0000
From: "Nightingale, Noel" <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
To: "blindlaw at nfbnet.org" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [blindlaw] Press Release: Attorney General Jeff Sessions
	Rescinds 25 Guidance Documents, Department of Justice, December 21,
	2017
Message-ID:
	<CY1PR09MB02172A9E2651659C20056DACF91F0 at CY1PR09MB0217.namprd09.prod.outlook.com>

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions Rescinds 25 Guidance Documents

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

December 21, 2017

Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that, pursuant to Executive Order 13777 and his November memorandum prohibiting certain guidance documents, he is rescinding 25 such documents that were unnecessary, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper.

In making the announcement, the Attorney General said:

"Last month, I ended the longstanding abuse of issuing rules by simply publishing a letter or posting a web page. Congress has provided for a regulatory process in statute, and we are going to follow it. This is good government and prevents confusing the public with improper and wrong advice."

"Therefore, any guidance that is outdated, used to circumvent the regulatory process, or that improperly goes beyond what is provided for in statutes or regulation should not be given effect. That is why today, we are ending 25 examples of improper or unnecessary guidance documents identified by our Regulatory Reform Task Force led by our Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand.  We will continue to look for other examples to rescind, and we will uphold the rule of law."

In March, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13777, which calls for agencies to establish Regulatory Reform Task Forces, chaired by a Regulatory Reform Officer, to identify existing regulations for potential repeal, replacement, or modification. The Department of Justice Task Force, chaired by Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand, began its work in May.

On November 17, the Attorney General issued a memorandum prohibiting DOJ components from using guidance documents to circumvent the rulemaking process and directed Associate Attorney General Brand to work with components to identify guidance documents that should be repealed, replaced, or modified.

The Task Force has already identified 25 guidance documents for repeal and is continuing its review of existing guidance documents to repeal, replace, or modify.

The list of 25 guidance documents that DOJ has withdrawn in 2017 is as follows:

1.ATF Procedure 75-4.

2.Industry Circular 75-10.

3.ATF Ruling 85-3.

4.Industry Circular 85-3.

5.ATF Ruling 2001-1.

6.ATF Ruling 2004-1.

7.Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative Guidelines (2013).

8.Northern Border Prosecution Initiative Guidelines (2013).

9.Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants Program Guidance Manual (2007).

10.Advisory for Recipients of Financial Assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice on Levying Fines and Fees on Juveniles (January 2017).

11.Dear Colleague Letter on Enforcement of Fines and Fees (March 2016).

12.ADA Myths and Facts (1995).

13.Common ADA Problems at Newly Constructed Lodging Facilities (November 1999).

14.Title II Highlights (last updated 2008).

15.Title III Highlights (last updated 2008).

16.Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of Business (July 1996).

17.ADA Business Brief: Service Animals (April 2002).

18.Prior Joint Statement of the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Group Homes, Local Land Use, and the Fair Housing Act (August 18, 1999).

19.Letter to Alain Baudry, Esq., with standards for conducting internal audit in a non-discriminatory fashion (December 4, 2009).

20.Letter to Esmeralda Zendejas on how to determine whether lawful permanent residents are protected against citizenship status discrimination (May 30, 2012).

21.Common ADA Errors and Omissions in New Construction and Alterations (June 1997).

22.Common Questions: Readily Achievable Barrier Removal and Design Details: Van Accessible Parking Spaces (August 1996).

23.Website guidance on bailing-out procedures under section 4(b) and section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (2004).

24.Americans with Disabilities Act Questions and Answers (May 2002).

25.Statement of the Department of Justice on Application of the Integration Mandate of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C. to State and Local Governments' Employment Service Systems for Individuals with Disabilities (October 31, 2016).

------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2018 00:00:09 +0000
From: "Nightingale, Noel" <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
To: "blindlaw at nfbnet.org" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [blindlaw] Article: DOJ Nixes All Pending ADA Rulemakings,
	Including Website Access Rules, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, December 22, 2017
Message-ID:
	<CY1PR09MB02170AF47D4A59532BF662E8F91C0 at CY1PR09MB0217.namprd09.prod.outlook.com>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.adatitleiii.com%2F2017%2F12%2Fdoj-nixes-all-pending-ada-rulemakings-including-website-access-rules%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7Ce74d103cfb5a496b875d08d55433f00b%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636507504403479635&sdata=JwVTnFdScg6ozw5eR985V7H9X%2B8Jh1ICc6LW590e2fw%3D&reserved=0

DOJ Nixes All Pending ADA Rulemakings, Including Website Access Rules

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

December 22, 2017

By: Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Justice Department withdraws pending rulemakings for accessible websites, furniture and non-fixed equipment.

The current Department of Justice's (DOJ) regulatory approach to Title III of the ADA is yet another example of what a difference an election can make.

In 2010, the DOJ started the rulemaking process to issue new regulations about the websites of public accommodations and state and local governments, as well as non-fixed equipment and furniture used in public accommodations. In July of this year, the DOJ placed these rulemakings on the "inactive list". On December 26, 2017, these rulemakings will officially be withdrawn.

On the web access rules, the DOJ stated that it is "evaluating whether promulgating regulations about the accessibility of Web information and services is necessary and appropriate. Such an evaluation will be informed by additional review of data and further analysis. The Department will continue to assess whether specific technical standards are necessary and appropriate to assist covered entities with complying with the ADA." This is an unfortunate development for the disability community and covered businesses alike. Instead of having clear rules to follow, businesses will have to look to the constantly evolving patchwork of decisions coming out of the courts for guidance. Meanwhile, the number of website accessibility lawsuits continues to surge as businesses scramble to make their websites accessible.

With regard to the withdrawal of the rulemaking about non-fixed equipment and furniture, DOJ said that it is "reevaluating whether regulation of the accessibility of non-fixed equipment and furniture is necessary and appropriate." We see far less litigation on this topic although advocacy groups may feel the need to press the litigation agenda more aggressively now that no rules are forthcoming. Businesses are, for the most part, better off without these rules but they need to remember that the absence of technical standards does not necessarily mean there are no obligations under the ADA with regard to these items. Title III of the ADA contains a general non-discrimination mandate and more general rules that still require a public accommodation to ensure access to all its goods, services and benefits, subject to certain defenses.

This latest development just confirms what we predicted would happen during this administration, albeit with more finality than we had anticipated.

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End of BlindLaw Digest, Vol 164, Issue 3
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