NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ELIOT SPITZER KEEPS COMMITMENT
TO UPHOLD THE MULLER DECISION
ROCHESTER - September 30,
1999 (Portions reprinted from a news released issued by the Center for
Disability Rights).
New York State Attorney General
Eliot Spitzer met with representatives from Rochester's Center for Disability
Rights and promised not to appeal the decision of the U.S. Second Circuit
Court, which ruled in Muller v. Costello that the State is covered under Title
II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Attorney General will
confirm his position with a letter to members of the disability community.
In three recent court cases
involving people with disabilities, the Attorney General's Division of State
Counsel had argued that Title II of the ADA, which covers public entities such
as New York State, was unconstitutional. A lawsuit brought under the ADA,
Constance and Constance v. State University of New York Health Science Center,
received significant attention from the disability rights community. By
deciding not to appeal the decision, he lets the ruling stand as "the law of
the land" in the Second Circuit. According to the Attorney General, "this
matter is settled in the Second Circuit." Attorney General Spitzer explained
that there was a possibility that lawyers in another Circuit may appeal the
state's rights issue to the U.S. Supreme Court. For this reason, New York State
will "keep this defense open" if the Supreme Court decides that states are
exempt in the future. The Attorney General also took the opportunity to discuss
the issues being addressed by the re-energized Civil Rights Bureau. He outlined
steps his office is taking to assure that Deaf people have access to
interpreters in private hospitals and that polling places are made accessible
for people with disabilities.
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Copyright
© 1999.
New York State Independent Living Council, Inc. All rights
reserved.
Revised: February 11, 2001 |
