[Perform-talk] NFB files law suits against 4 California law schools

[Donna Hill]

National Federation of the Blind Files Suit Against Four California 
Law Schools 
<http://thebatchannel.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/national-federation-of-the-blind-files-suit-against-four-california-law-schools/> 


Posted by rbwatson1 <http://> on June 17, 2010

* *

    *SAN FRANCISCO, June 9
    PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --- *

    *The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the nation's oldest and
    largest organization of blind people, and three blind students who
    have applied or
    are considering applying to law school in California-Deepa Goraya,
    Bruce J.
    Sexton, and Claire Stanley-filed an amended lawsuit yesterday
    against the Law School Admissions Council and four California law
    schools for violating
    provisions of the California Disabled Persons Act, the Unruh Civil
    Rights Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. *

    *The suit was filed because the law schools require or encourage
    applicants to use a centralized Internet-based application process
    provided by the Law
    School Admissions Council (LSAC) through its Web site (*www.lsac.org
    <http://www.lsac.orgf>*)
    that is inaccessible to blind law school applicants. Blind students
    must
    seek sighted assistance to use the LSAC system. Furthermore, blind
    law school applicants cannot perform other tasks on the LSAC Web
    site, such as
    downloading official study materials for the Law School Admissions Test
    (LSAT) that is required by almost all U.S. law schools. *

    *The four law schools are: University of California Hastings College
    of the Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Whittier Law School, and
    Chapman
    University School of Law. *

    *Blind people access Web sites on computers equipped with screen
    access software that converts what is on the screen into synthesized
    speech or
    Braille. The keyboard is used instead of a mouse to navigate the Web
    site and click on selected links or buttons. *

    *If a Web site is improperly coded, however, blind computer users
    cannot access or interact with the site. The law school applications
    available on
    lsac.org are completely inaccessible to screen readers, requiring blind
    users to resort to sighted assistance in order to complete their law
    school applications. *

    *In addition, the practice tests and preparation materials for the
    LSAT are not available in an electronic format that is accessible to
    blind computer
    users. *

    *Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
    said: "The National Federation of the Blind demands that those who
    control
    admission to the practice of law obey the law. For too long, blind
    people have experienced barriers to entering the legal profession,
    despite a long
    history of success and distinguished service by blind attorneys and
    judges.
    The National Federation of the Blind will not sit quietly while the
    LSAC willfully refuses to provide the same services to blind people
    seeking
    admission to law school that it does to the sighted. *

    *The LSAC is engaging in blatant discrimination against the blind
    and we will
    not stand for it. Since all of the schools named in our amended
    complaint either require or strongly encourage applicants to use the
    inaccessible LSAC
    application system, they too are actively discriminating against blind
    applicants and we will ask the courts to hold them responsible for
    doing so." *

    *The National Federation of the Blind and Ms. Goraya originally
    filed suit against the LSAC for its inaccessible Web site in
    February of 2009. The
    complaint filed yesterday amends that action. *

    *The National Federation of the Blind recently filed complaints with
    the United States Department of Justice against nine other law
    schools across
    the United States that use the LSAC online application system. The
    Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is investigating
    those complaints.*

    *Plaintiffs are represented in this matter by Daniel F. Goldstein
    and Mehgan Sidhu of the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein, and Levy;
    Laurence W. Paradis, Anna Levine, and Karla Gilbride of the Berkley
    firm Disability Rights Advocates; and Scott C. LaBarre of the Denver
    firm LaBarre Law Offices. *


            About the National Federation of the Blind

    *With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind
    is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind
    people in the
    United States. The NFB improves blind people's lives through
    advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging
    independence and
    self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field
    today and the voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB
    opened the
    National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first
    research and training center in the United States for the blind led
    by the blind. *

    *Reproduced from
    *http://www.nfb.org/nfb/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=605
    <http://www.nfb.org/nfb/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=605>        * *

               

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