[nagdu] Enforcement

Thu Jan 22 12:27:51 UTC 2009

Dan,
    For the past few years, Florida has handed down progressively harsher 
penalties for vilating our state statute. Here is a brief time line:

1988 - State Attorney refuses to prosecute a case of denial because of the 
"obscurity" of the law
1992 - Lounge owner pleads No contest and is ordered to pay court cost and 
give blind man the beer he came for;
2000 - Restaurant owner agrees to post signs about service animals being 
welcome and pays to have educational materials sent out. case is dismissed
2001 Taxi Driver is ordered to perform 20 hours of community service at a 
center for the blind for denying access to a guide dog
2002 - Taxi driver pleads no contest and is order to perform thirty hours of 
community service at a center for the blind
2003 - Restaurant owner pleads no contest and is ordered to perform forty 
hours of community service at a center for the blind
2006 - Convenience store owner pleads no contest and is order to perform 
forty-five hours of community service at a center for the blind and publish 
a 3" X 3" ad in a conspicous place for seven consecutive days.

    This is just a sample. the dates may not be completely accurate, but are 
close. The reason for this progression is due to the work of the members of 
the Florida Association of guide Dog users. This is another reason we need 
to have divisions in every state!

fraternally,
Marion

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan Weiner" <dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 6:59 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Enforcement

> Well, honestly, guys...
> What I've seen most of them time in my situations is that neither the 
> state
> laws nor the Federal ones are enforced or they don't have teeth...I mean, 
> if
> someone commits an infraction of a law he/she must either be forced to
> comply and/or penalized for violation.
>
> Are people ever  penalized for denying us access?  I've rarely seen it in
> practice.  Perhaps you can provide me some examples to brighten my
> morning/--grin.
>
> Just for the record, my posts may make me out to be a cantankerous cynic,
> but I'm actually a pretty pleasant guy to have around--grin.  I'm just
> talking honestly about how I feel.
>
> Cordially,
>
> Dan W. and the wild beasts
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Craig Borne
> Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 6:08 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Enforcement
>
> Ron,
>
> Either the federal ADA will need to be further amended to give it more
> "teeth," or the State will need to enact tougher laws that go beyond the
> ADA.  Setting up stricter enforcement agencies within the State that are a
> product of the State will not work because the State lacks the power to
> enforce federal laws, unless of course, the State has the same law enacted
> on a State level.
>
> States such as California have done this with good results.  Other States,
> unfortunately, are very weak in this area.
>
> Craig
>
> Craig Borne
> Baltimore, Maryland
> "A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial
> appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in
> defense of custom."  --Thomas Paine, Common Sense
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Ron Davidson
> Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 4:43 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] Enforcement
>
> I found out recently that the ADA laws are not the easiest to get 
> enforced.
> I was denied access to a local restraint with my guide dog and as I was
> taught in school did not force my way in.  I explained the law to the
> management and they still refused. They changed their mind after I asked
> them to call the police to have me removed and they refused to do this so 
> I
> called the police and filed a complaint or report. When I got home I 
> filled
> out a complaint form with the DOJ and also with the state attorney 
> generals
> office  because I received a email from DOJ saying to do so. The state
> attorneys generals office emailed me and told me they couldn't enforce the
> federal law and to contact my local City ADA compliance office they sent 
> me
> to the district attorneys office and they sent me to the Human Rights
> Commission. Then I received a letter from a law office that worked as
> mediators and we set up and met with the restraint owners and worked out a
> settlement. The restraint then broke the contract of settlement with me 
> and
> I recontacted the mediators office and they said there was nothing more 
> they
> could do. I contacted the DOJ and they said the only thing I could do was
> privately sue the restraint and the state has limitations on the amount I
> could receive and may not be enough to cover my legal fees. Is this 
> normally
> how this works a big run around just to be dumped on. I think if we give
> local agencies the power to enforce the ada laws that would help maybe I 
> am
> wrong. By the way the terms of the contract was that I and someone from 
> the
> local low vision center would train all their employees on how to deal 
> with
> as far as sight guiding and waiting on us and other things helpful for 
> them
> to know just some educating of the public and the management thought that
> was a great idea.  But he never had a intensions of sticking to the terms 
> of
> the contract.
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