[blindLaw] Support appointment of Karla Gilbride and other disabled judges to the federal bench

[Nightingale, Noel]

From: Claudia Center <ccenter at dredf.org<mailto:ccenter at dredf.org>>
Sent: Monday, March 1, 2021 7:04 PM
To: Claudia Center <ccenter at dredf.org<mailto:ccenter at dredf.org>>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Support appointment of Karla Gilbride and other disabled judges to the federal bench

Dear Friends,

I am writing to people I know who are lawyers and law students with disabilities (including blind and/or deaf people) to ask you to sign on to a letter in support of the Biden administration appointing Karla Gilbride to the federal bench.  This letter specific to Karla will be the first of several in support of candidates from our community.

As you all know, the disability community has fought for years to remove barriers to law school and the legal profession for people with disabilities, and to implement the principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in our court systems. But today, more than 30 years after the passage of the ADA, there are very few federal judges with disabilities. While there are about 870 federal judges, the number who are known to have disabilities is so small that the individuals can be listed by name. Maybe one percent at most.

Take a moment to sign on to this letter in support of Karla Gilbride, a blind lawyer and an eminently qualified candidate for the federal bench.

Please also forward this letter to additional law students and lawyers with disabilities -- let's start a snowball effect and get hundreds of signatures.

Letter here, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TyIIPfpLVZW8HG-mR6f3fKGcydQzrOLH1ZOr_yTtgmk/edit<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fdocument%2Fd%2F1TyIIPfpLVZW8HG-mR6f3fKGcydQzrOLH1ZOr_yTtgmk%2Fedit&data=04%7C01%7Cstuarpix%40microsoft.com%7C775e633fd58446b4920708d8dd27c909%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C637502510850194761%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=wa3vru1d%2FbtZMjCpydxXxLU31cX5vMj2FBy26vT6hTs%3D&reserved=0>, form to sign on here, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzpK4U5ekuZ6rBCsC2ch4gMteIUNSJN99IRH5JXMYC0ZFv3A/viewform?gxids=7628<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fforms%2Fd%2Fe%2F1FAIpQLSdzpK4U5ekuZ6rBCsC2ch4gMteIUNSJN99IRH5JXMYC0ZFv3A%2Fviewform%3Fgxids%3D7628&data=04%7C01%7Cstuarpix%40microsoft.com%7C775e633fd58446b4920708d8dd27c909%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C637502510850204718%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=zmKgLFKUe9c1DSJ%2BOKnkPTo9MM6TBqxPKHzWM7gnZl8%3D&reserved=0>.

Claudia

PS Please use the form to sign on, but please feel free to share comments with me -- we'll try to implement while working fast.


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Claudia Center (she/her/hers)
Legal Director
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
(510) 644-2555 ext. 5231 | ccenter at dredf.org<mailto:ccenter at dredf.org>