Judges to assess capacity of intellectually disabled witnesses

By Jennifer Hough

JUDGES will be given the power to assess whether a person with an intellectual disability has the "capacity" for decision-making, or to be a reliable witness in a court of law.  Under proposed capacity legislation, it is hoped that legal loopholes whereby people with an intellectual disability are often deemed "incapable" of making decisions, or giving evidence, will be closed.  The laws — dating back to the Lunacy Act of 1871 — create barriers for disabled people on a wide range of issues such as access to justice, medical treatment, control of money and the right to marry.  Submissions to the joint committee on Justice, Defence and Equality relating to the promised legislation must be received by Friday.  Campaigning group Inclusion Ireland said it receives many queries about problems arising from the lack of a modern legal framework.

"Under current law, parents, carers and service providers have no legal authority to take necessary decisions on behalf of adults with disabilities. Hardly a week goes by without this problem being raised by a parent, family member, professional or service provider and, more frequently, by the person themselves," the group’s submission states.  "The complete absence of any guidance on how to assess capacity for this group of people, who may not have capacity to make decisions, and/or may not be able to communicate their decision, means that decisions that need to be taken are sometimes not taken, or that decisions are taken that may involve an infringement of the person’s rights." 

Inclusion Ireland said decisions are often made for people because the family or service provider feels the person lacks decision-making capacity, without attempting to find out what that capacity may be.  "They may have a paternalistic view, based on the assumption that people with greater intellectual ability know better."  There is concern this view could continue, however, as judges who are assessing people will be relying on medical evidence and definitions.

In Britain, specialist judges are put in place to carry out this function, but here it is understood it will become a role of the high court.  The inadequacies of the law in serious issues such as abuse have been highlighted many times.  In one case, a 23-year-old woman, Laura Kelly, was prohibited from giving evidence about her alleged sexual assault by a judge who deemed she did not have the capacity to testify in court. Legislation has been signalled for some years and is required to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Study of disability should be part of college syllabi: Chief justice

Mayura Janwalkar

It is the study of disability that needs to be a part of medical college syllabi and not just the medical condition, chief justice (CJ) Mohit Shah of the Bombay high court said on Saturday. For the first time, the high court interacted with nearly 60 government officers and NGO representatives together to discuss issues related to disabilities. Major General (retd) Ian Cardozo of the Rehabilitation Council of India informed CJ Shah and justice SJ Vajifdar that candidates from the reserved quota for the disabled are often turned down by government doctors. CJ Shah remarked, "We will ask the Medical Council of India to make the study of disability a part of their syllabus.""

Centre to be answerable

Bhushan Punani of the Blind People’s Association said the centre allocates funds for development in the disability field to state governments each year. However, principal secretary of the social justice and welfare department Satish Gavai said these funds are not adequately allocated. The court has issued a show cause notice to the centre.

Technology needed

Advocate Kanchan Pamnani said that of the 3% of government posts reserved for the disabled, 1% are reserved for the visually challenged. Professor Sam Taraporevala made a presentation of various softwares which, if made available by the government, can be used by the visually challenged to enhance their efficiency. "Reservation is meaningless if the software is not provided by the government," CJ Shah said.

What’s in a name?

Due to a difference in nomenclature of central and state government posts reserved for disabled candidates, there is a backlog of 607 posts in the state. Issuing a show cause notice to the state government, the court also sought a compilation of government resolutions, including the resolution of February 2008 that bars blind candidates from teaching in colleges. Advocate Jamshed Mistry said that the government’s decisions need periodical reviews and a time-frame for implementation.
Attitude change needed

Advocate general Ravi Kadam said, "Unless the mindset changes at our end, there is going to be no real change," Kadam said. CJ Shah added, "In the West, legislation mandates testing for disabilities at birth. If it is made compulsory, remedial measures can be taken immediately. I would like the government to consider this very seriously," The court was informed that such detection was a part of the government’s draft action plan.

DNA

Wed a disabled person, get 50,000 from state govt

It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but in India, the physically challenged have not been integrated into mainstream society. And marriage is the one institution where the stigma of being differently-abled is starkly highlighted. Now, the state government has decided to rectify this and is planning to launch a scheme where anyone marrying a disabled person will be awarded Rs 50,000. Social justice minister Shivajirao Moghe said the idea was to encourage marriages between the “disabled and the able-bodied’’.  Any person who marries a person with 40% or above disability—one who is certified as disabled—will be eligible. The government is of the opinion that the reward scheme will promote greater integration of physically challenged people into mainstream society, and will be implemented across Maharashtra. According to the 2001 census, there were 15.69 lakh persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the state. No data was available on unmarried PWDs.

While the plan has been welcomed in some quarters, many NGOs and activists have expressed their doubts over whether a monetary incentive is the way to go. Naysayers include Raju Waghmare, who is employed as a programme officer for handicap rights with the Human Right Law Network. “The scheme will encourage an able-bodied person to marry a financially independent disabled person for monetary gain,’’ he said. ‘We must go out to find partners’ Mrs. Varsha Hooja, trustee, ADAPT, an action group that promotes the cause of the disabled and others working and living together, felt that first priority should be given to creating awareness, promoting a disabled-friendly environment, and sensitizing society towards the abilities of the physically challenged. “Marriage will follow,’’ she said. On the other hand, the Handicap Welfare Association—a non-profit organization for the disabled by the disabled-—has welcomed the move. “If implemented in letter and spirit, the scheme could be a step towards the empowerment of the differently abled,’’ said Ravi Subbaiah, president of the association. To increase the reach of the welfare scheme, he cited the need to set up a disabled-friendly public infrastructure. “The disabled need to go out and interact with people in order to find a partner,’’ he said. Unfortunately, most cities in India do not have this infrastructure.

Maharashtra is not the first Indian state to award reward schemes. Goa and Karnataka governments have already taken steps by providing tax rebates and perks to corporates employing PWDs, a move that Waghmare believes is more effective towards integrating the physically challenged in society. Goa also has a similar marriage reward scheme. To prevent misuse of funds, social welfare officers will be in charge of implementation. The social justice and special assistance departments have a prepared a detailed proposal, which has been forwarded to the planning department for fund allocation.

Pratibha Masand Times of India, 9th October 2010

EU development cooperation; does disability count?

Europe has declared 2010 to be the year against poverty and social exclusion. It is a good occasion to look at the European policy towards a group that knows only too well what poverty and social exclusion mean: people in developing countries living with a disability. Does European development aid reach people like Lila Maya in Nepal, who became blind as a baby and was isolated and mistreated until a local NGO helped her set up her business? Or Ricardo in Mozambique, who never went to school because of his paralyzed legs?

A vicious cycle

Poverty, exclusion and disability are interrelated. Poverty causes disability, because it means that people do not have access to health facilities, information and adequate food that could prevent a simple disease to develop into a disability. With proper treatment, Lila Maya might have not become blind. Disability in its turn causes poverty, because practical problems and social stigma exclude people with a disability from education and work to earn their own living. Ricardo makes a little money by repairing the clothes of his neighbours, but what would his life have looked like, if he had had access to school and a wheel chair?  According to the United Nations 650 million people live with a disability and 80% of those live in developing countries[1]. The European Union is a major player in development cooperation; it provides over half of all official development assistance worldwide[2]. An inclusive development policy of the EU can therefore really make a difference for people with a disability.

Beyond good intentions

In 2009 the EU ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is a legally binding convention which stresses the importance of international cooperation and states that countries should ensure that: ‘that international cooperation, including international development programmes, is inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities’[3]. This means that, besides and above the good intentions which the EU expresses by announcing a Year against poverty and social exclusion, it has is a legal obligation to ensure that development cooperation reaches people with a disability. The Convention is an important landmark signalling a change in attitude.  In stead of talking about the handicapped who need to be cared for, people with a disability are now recognized as persons who have the right to participate in all aspects of society. Only countries that have ratified the Convention are bound to it. The EU already took this important step, but a number of European countries such as Norway, the Netherlands, Poland and Italy are still missing on the list.

Towards an inclusive European development policy

Europe has shown its commitment to the rights of the Lila Maya’s and Ricardo’s in the world. But to make sure they can
really benefit from European aid, more steps need to be taken.

• Ratify: More countries should ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This will show their real commitment and helps to make sure that we will come from good intentions to realization of rights. The EU should urge those member states that have not done so yet, to ratify the Convention as soon as possible. Together, the European countries can encourage other countries to ratify and of course to implement the  Convention.
• Plan: The start of implementation is developing a good plan. A quick scan of relevant EU policy documents on disability and development does not give much hope. The Commission Work Programme 2010 refers to disability only once, in an annex and not in relation to development. The General development framework, makes no mention of disability at all. The Guidance Note on Disability and Development, published in 2004 by the European Commission[4] provides a number of useful principles, but apparently these are not put into practice. A good sign is that the Directorate General Development is considering to add disability to the list of ‘cross cutting’ issues. Recognizing disability as a cross cutting theme will help to ensure that attention will be paid to disability in all development activities: ‘mainstreaming’ disability. Already, the EU requires applicants of development grants to explain how the grant will benefit people with a disability. Besides mainstreaming disability in development activities, the EU will need to facilitate disability-specific services and support for disabled persons to empower themselves and to get access to mainstream services.
• Learn: Developing such a plan is not easy. Implementing it will be even more challenging. Mainstreaming disability is a new concept and there are no studies yet that prove which strategies are successful. A lot can be learned from the experiences regarding gender and development. It is also important to do research regarding disability and development. Lessons should be drawn from good and bad experiences, to improve future  policies.
• Measure. To know if efforts are effectively reaching people with a disability, it is important to collect data before, during and after interventions. How many people with a disability are living in the project area? Which disabilities do they have and how does this affect their ability to benefit from development efforts? Targets will need to be set on how many people with a disability will be reached by a certain effort. In most cases, the required data will be unavailable. People with a disability are not counted and therefore cannot be accounted for. Starting to collect these data will make them visible. This will require ‘disaggregation’ of data: asking projects to report on how many of the people they are people with a disability, just as they are often required to do regarding women and youth.
• Involve. Last but certainly not least,  people with a disability should be involved in all the above. ‘Nothing about us without us’ is the adagio of the disability movement.

[1] UN 2006, Some facts about persons with disabilities, http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/facts.shtml

[2] http://ec.europa.eu/development/how/monterrey_en.cfm

[3] Article 32, see http://www.dcdd.nl/reader/reader.html

[4] http://ec.europa.eu/development/body/publications/docs/Disability_en.pdf

Published by: Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development (DCDD) -Saskia Bakker

Disability and Census of 2011

Counting the “invisible” children of Mother India.

While the current focus of political debate is on ‘caste and census,’ there is another important aspect that deserves attention. This concerns disability.  For decades after our independence, there was no effort to actually count how many of us have any disability. There were estimates-informed or otherwise- but no factual figures. All our  government’s plans and budgets, rules and regulations, proclamations and posturing were built upon shaky foundations. A new Ministry was created, staffed and has been operating for several decades on that basis. It seemed to suit every one, except the millions who were thus rendered ‘invisible’. This lasted for 54 years. But, despite their  ‘invisibility,’ the disabled and the NGOs dealing with disability made progress on the ground.

Let me illustrate with an example. There was no government or non-government organisation looking after the needs of children with cerebral palsy, till a young mother of a child with cerebral palsy set up the very first Spastics Society of India, Mumbai (now known as ADAPT-Able Disabled All People Together)) in 1972. The handful of children included her own daughter. Dr. Mithu Alur, our Chairperson, had thus created a unique institution, offering all facilities under one roof, including diagnosis, physiotherapy, physical aids, schooling, parental counselling, etc. Over time, these services also came to include research, teachers training, admission of older children in “normal” schools and colleges, job-oriented training and placements and so on. This model is now replicated in 18 States. Almost all the organisers have themselves been trained at Mumbai. These NGOs operate independently, while forming a Regional Alliance, constantly coordinating, cooperating and learning from one another.

During preparations for the Census of 2001, several NGOs (including us) approached the Census Commission with the request that they should also count the disabled in our country. Obvious arguments were put forward. Approaches were also made through the concerned departments of the Government. Unfortunately, nothing worked; we were simply told that the disabled could not be included. The NGOs were persistent; the matter was taken to the political level. Eventually, it was decided that the Census would include, for the very first time, a counting of the disabled. However, this historic decision was taken at a very late stage, in the face of consistent opposition by the Census Establishment. Perhaps, their subsequent actions were reluctant and grudging. Perhaps, there was not enough time for the necessary preparations. It is also possible that, despite their best efforts, framing of appropriate questions, their translation into the required languages, training of the enumerators etc. left much to be desired. For all these reasons, the results of the Census 2001 were deeply disappointing for the disability movement.

For example, the Census of 2001 concluded that there were only 2.13 % or 21 million Indians with any kind of disability. This was a fraction of the estimates by most experts. This has since been amply proved by a World Bank report of 2007. This report was “prepared at the request of the Government of India”. In fact, it acknowledges “the guidance of officials of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, guidance provided by an inter-ministerial Technical Advisory Group set up for the work by MSJE and consisting of representatives from the Ministries of Health, Labour, Human Resource Development and Rural development, as well as an NGO representative.” Similarly, it acknowledges the help of officials in several States including Rajasthan, Karnataka, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. In short, the World Bank Team had the full backing and support of the Government of India and many State governments. The report is entitled ‘People with Disabilities in India: From Commitments to Outcomes’. It concludes: “While estimates vary, there is growing evidence that people with disabilities comprise between 4 and 8 per cent of the India population (around 40-90 million individuals)”

Obviously, there is a vast difference between 2.13 per cent or 21 million ‘counted’ by the Census of India, and 4-8 per cent or 40-90 million estimated by the World Bank team. Several NGOs, including ADAPT, have been interacting with the Census Commission, individually or in groups. The Commissioner, Dr. C. Chandramauli, has been positive and open-minded. In a recent letter to him, based on our own experience, and consultations with our regional partners and other experts, we have made a number of recommendations. These take into account the Commission’s constraints of space and format, the work already done, and recommendations made by others in the disability movement, like a Delhi-based group which had also held wide consultations. For example, along with the Delhi group, we have endorsed the inclusion of four types of disability in seeing, hearing, speech and movement, repeated from the 2001 census. We have also endorsed the recommended inclusion of Multiple Disability and Mental Retardation. But, since the latter expression is no longer used, we propose “Remembering and Concentration” instead. Thus, there is already an agreement on the types of disability.

Equally important is the framing of questions under each type. Questions must be activity related; these must also be relevant to our circumstances; only then can these elicit accurate responses. For example, the question suggested by us on speech is: “Do you have difficulty in speaking in your usual language?” The latter language is included because, in the course of a research study with UNICEF involving 31,000 children, we had found that children who had migrated out of their home states had a linguistic problem, which may be reflected as a speech problem. We have also submitted Hindi translations of these easy-to- understand questions to demonstrate that similar translations in other languages could be equally easy and understandable. Contrary to speculations, there is thus a growing meeting of minds between the Census Commission, on the one hand, and several sections of the disability movement, on the other. Thus, we can hope that the Census of 2011 will finally be able to give us a correct count of the disabled in our country, making them truly visible.

By Kamal Bakshi
(A former ambassador, and Vice-Chairperson of ADAPT, Mumbai.)

© Copyright 2000 – 2009 The Hindu

Rejected disabled CAT-taker moves court against IIMs : Contends institutes leave disabled category seats vacant

Mayura Janwalkar.

Do the IIMs adequately fill up the disability quota for students?

No, thinks Rahul Girreddy, who took CAT this year and has filed a petition against the IIMs in the Bombay high court.  The commerce graduate contends in his petition that the IIMs are not complying with the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities (PD) Act, 1995.  “Though there are 90 to 100 seats reserved for DAs (differently-abled candidates), only approximately 55 candidates are short-listed collectively by the IIMs for the second phase of the selection process,” the petition states. Under the PD Act, 3% of seats in educational institutions have to be reserved for DA candidates. But the number of seats provided by the IIMs against the quota does not amount to 3%, the petition states.

It states that IIM-A stipulates that SC/ST/DA candidates should score at least 17% in each of the three sections of CAT. Accordingly, 396 DA candidates should have been eligible for interviews this year. But the IIMs put the cut-off for the three categories at 80 percentile — much above what the 17% per subject would yield — and called only 31 candidates for interviews. Girreddy contends that even if all the IIMs were to set their cut-off at say 60 percentile — like  IIM-Indore — only 55 DA candidates would have been selected, leaving many seats vacant, which would then be filled up with candidates from the general category. Girreddy, who secured 46.20 percentile, was certain of getting an interview call.

But the high cut-off dashed his hopes. Terming the conditions laid down by the IIMs “illogical”, Girreddy states in his petition: “Though the IIMs do make a provision for 3% of their seats to be reserved for DAs, the modus operandi adopted by the IIMs defeats the provisions of the PD Act, frustrates the objective set out for the state in the constitution, and causes a colossal waste of public money.”  Girreddy’s father GS Reddy says the case will be mentioned before a division bench of the court on Monday, and a date of hearing sought. If the court gives a judgment favourable to Girreddy, it will affect the percentile scores of all candidates.

DNA Bombay

Rejig of discrimination laws should enshrine equality for all

DOMINIQUE ALLEN
May 3, 2010

The government needs to back its words on human rights with action.

THE Rudd government recently said it would review the four federal anti-discrimination laws with a view to merging  them into a single act.  The review could be the most significant aspect of the government’s new  human rights  framework – but only if the outcome is a law that will effectively tackle inequality. Australian law has prohibited discrimination for more than 30 years. These laws have eradicated the most overt forms of discrimination. Women can’t be prevented from applying for jobs based on gender. People can’t be removed from a pub because of their race. We cannot afford to be complacent; by no means do we live in an equal society.  Women’s participation in the workforce is 58.7 per cent, compared with 72.1 per cent for men, most women work part-time and many industries remain highly segregated. Race discrimination persists. We only have to think of the recent attacks on Indian students in Melbourne or the fact that indigenous people experience a standard of living well below that of the non-indigenous population. A recent ANU study found that a job applicant with a non-Anglo-Saxon sounding name will find it much more difficult to  get a job interview than an applicant with one. People with a disability face many obstacles in accessing buildings,  services and public transport.

The reason for this discrimination is dealt with case by case. There is no institution, like the ACCC or the Ombudsman, that can make sure that people are given a ”fair go” at work or school, or in the services they receive. It is up to victims to do something about discrimination.  If I am discriminated against by a potential employer because I am female and likely to have children soon, my only option, apart from trying to sort the matter out with the employer, is to lodge a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission. The commission will arrange a conciliation conference for the parties and we’ll try to resolve the issue. The chances are we will. We’ll spend a few hours discussing what happened and I’ll walk away with a small financial settlement in return for not going to court and keeping the matter confidential. That will resolve the issue for me, but what if there are other women in the workplace who have had a similar experience? What about other employers who are considering doing the same thing? Will my complaint deter them?

The answer is that the system can do little to help people in a similar situation to mine, or to discourage potential discriminators. If the Rudd government simply decides to combine the race, sex, disability and age discrimination acts under one umbrella act, nothing will change; Australia will continue to tackle discrimination in a piecemeal fashion. There is another option. The government could commit to actively tackling inequality and introduce the legal tools to achieve it. This is not a novel idea. Other countries have been doing it for decades. In the US, at least since the Kennedy administration, government contractors have been required to take action to ensure their workforces are  representative, or they risk being ineligible for government contracts. In Northern Ireland, specific employers have been required to achieve fair participation of the Catholic and Protestant communities in the workforce since 1989. South Africa introduced similar requirements to remedy decades of apartheid. In Britain, equality is promoted beyond employment. Public authorities have to consider the need to promote equality of opportunity based on race, gender and disability when carrying out their functions. This meant that when the Department of Health became aware that diabetes was prevalent among Britain’s Afro-Caribbean community, it made sure that its national framework for  tackling diabetes took the needs of that community into consideration. The Rudd government could also follow Victoria’s lead. Just last month, the Victorian government introduced laws that will enable the Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to launch investigations into persistent or entrenched discrimination, rather than relying solely on victims to do something about it. Following an investigation, the commission will work with the organisation to resolve the issue.

The organisation may only need to change its behaviour or it may agree to something more comprehensive, such as developing an action plan to eliminate discrimination. Australian governments were once leaders in promoting equality and protecting human rights on the international stage. Let’s not forget that South Australian women were the first women worldwide to be extended the franchise as well as being allowed to stand for election. The Rudd  government recently reasserted Australia’s commitment to protecting human rights by becoming one of the first countries to sign the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It’s time for this government to bring that commitment to equality home by introducing laws that actively promote equality and give substance to the catch cry, a ”fair go” for all.

Dr Dominique Allen is a research fellow at the Institute of Legal Studies, Australian Catholic University.

Emotional homecoming: Autistic teen returns home from jail

Posted at: 04/08/2010 5:17 PM | Updated at: 04/08/2010 11:38 PM

By: Linzi Sheldon | WHEC.com

It was an emotional homecoming for a mentally disabled teenager Thursday night. He was released from jail after what his mother calls a horrible misunderstanding. “I was really happy to see her,” 19-year-old Jarred Crawford said. “Just, yay!” his mother Jamie Britt said. “He’s home! He’s home where he needs to be.” Crawford says he is just happy to be home with his family. His story triggered an outpouring of support from News 10 NBC viewers.  The teenager is autistic and his mother says he had  a meltdown at Victor High School on Wednesday  after there were four fire alarms. The school’s resource officer says Crawford punched and kicked him. Jarred was sent to jail by a Victor town judge after his mother said she couldn’t post bail. Britt says on Thursday, an employee from the public defender’s office spoke with the local judge who ordered Jarred to jail. She says that’s when the judge agreed that Jarred could be released.

News 10 NBC was there for that reunion at Ontario County jail. Britt said it was overwhelming to be able to hug her son  again and take him home. She says on Wednesday there were four fire alarms at Victor High School. She says some  autistic children are extremely sensitive to sound and other stimuli and when all that happened, he became physically aggressive with the school resource officer.  A judge sent Jarred to jail when Britt couldn’t post bail. Jarred called jail “scary” and says he is glad to be back home. “Happy,” he said. “Very, very happy. I’m at home, I have my dog upstairs, I have my Furbies, I have my mom, I have my sister…I can see them now. I don’t have to talk to them over the phone, I don’t have to see them through glass.”

After hearing that Britt couldn’t afford the bail money, some viewers called News 10 NBC offering to help her pay for it. Britt says she wants to thank them for their generous offers and kindness. She hopes this whole situation makes people more aware of some of the challenges facing autistic children. “Education is the key,” she said, “that’s the only thing that can happen differently. That’s education for the school systems as well as for the Sheriff’s office and the deputies and everybody that’s dealing with children and young adults that have these issues.” Jarred will not be attending school on Friday. He will be back on Monday when he is scheduled to have a meeting with school administrators. Jarred is still charged with disorderly conduct and assaulting an officer but Britt says she hopes to work with the public defender’s office and the judge to have those charges dropped.

For more Rochester, N.Y. news go to our website www.whec.com.

Locals pitch in to help develop Web site for the disabled

By Tish Butts

Published:Saturday, January 16, 2010 2:13 AM CST

An informational database is being developed to aid thousands of Mississippians living with disabilities in finding programs that accommodate their needs.  The site is expected to start up in the spring.  The River 5 team of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps worked with O’Keefe Educational Media of Gulfport to build Disability Connection, a database of almost 2,000 resources that offers services for daily living, health care, recreation, travel, support and mental wellness — as well as a social networking component for people with disabilities, AmeriCorps Community Relations Specialist Erika Roberts said.  The team worked with the directors of OEM to add contact information for other nonprofit organizations that will be made available.  Team member Jacob Dvorak, 21, of Florida, who recently found out that Attention Deficit Disorder is a disability, said he was able to contribute tools to help those who suffer from ADD.

Another team member, Summer Hasan, 20, of Texas, said people with disabilities often don’t know about programs or their availability from one county to the next. The idea is to connect them “with things they need,” she said.  The Internet resource center is designed to accommodate anyone with disabilities and allow for the addition of resources, Roberts said.  Janie O’Keefe, who founded the nonprofit organization with her husband, James O’Keefe, in 2002, set out to build the database after meeting a 35-year-old man in a wheelchair who had been homebound for 14 years.  “Many Americans are faced with disability issues within their families, friends and community,” she said.” In 2007, in Mississippi alone, an estimated 548,000 people age 5 and older were recorded as having a disability. That was 20.7 percent of the population.”  O’Keefe began her journey in 2003 by contacting the Harrison County Development Commission, Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau and Biloxi City Hall, but found that a list of activities for people with disabilities was not available. Efforts of OEM met setbacks in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina destroyed work on an educational film project, Roberts said. The O’Keefes then turned to the Internet to reach a larger audience.  While working with the team at the NCCC Southern Region Campus on Confederate Avenue in Vicksburg from Nov. 29 through mid-December, O’Keefe welcomed donations from Walmart and Ameristar Casino to help make the project possible.  Bess Averett, public relations manager for Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg, said the Washington Street business donates either service or funding to several large projects each year where they can “do the most good.”  “It’s always nice to be a part of a bigger project,” she said.

She said providing O’Keefe with lodging and meals for about 18 nights was an easy “yes” for the company founded by Craig Hart Neilsen, who was paralyzed in a car wreck in 1984 while driving from Nevada to Idaho.  He established The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation in 2003 to support research in finding a cure for spinal cord injuries and disease, as well as funding rehabilitation programs for those afflicted. Neilsen died in 2006.  O’Keefe said she has been considering working with another NCCC team in March to complete the project.  NCCC inducted 160 members ages 18-24 in September to serve 11 Southern states — West Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, Florida and Mississippi.  In mid-December, the teams finished their second round of projects. They serve in recovery, disaster preparation, public safety, response, environmental conservation and education.  Other regional campuses are in Denver, Colo.; Sacramento, Calif.; Perry Point, Md.; and Vinton, Iowa.

Contact Tish Butts at tbutts@vicksburgpost.com

Delhi Govt. Special School denies admission to 8 year old child

Dear Madam Chief Minister of Delhi,

It is most unfortunate and painful that a school meant for children suffering from hearing impairment has denied admission to a hearing impaired child in Class I without any valid reason. The Rajkiya Madhyamik Badhir Vidyalaya (Delhi Government Secondary School for Hearing Impaired Children run by the Department of Social Welfare at Sector-4, Rohini, Delhi-85 has refused to grant admission to 8-year-old Master Vicky even after repeated requests of the child’s mother. It is submitted that Master Vicky s/o Mrs. Kiran Singh r/o N-123/5, T-HUTS, Lal Bagh, Azadpur, Delhi is suffering from hearing disability. As per the Hearing Disability Certificate dated 01.08.2007 issued by Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, the child suffers from Profound Sensorineural Loss with pure tone average of 95 % dB in the better ear. It is submitted that from the past one month Mrs. Kiran, the mother of the child, has been asking the authorities of Rajkiya Madhyamik Badhir Vidyalaya to give admission to her ward in Class 1 in the said school owing to Master Vicky’s hearing disability, but the school authorities have been refusing to take him in their school. Even after repeated requests the school has not paid any heed to the child’s right to education. It is interesting to note that the said school is a special school, run by the Delhi Government for the children with hearing impairment.

One can imagine that if a special child has not been admitted in a special school run by the Government, then what will happen to the children with disabilities seeking admission in mainstream schools run by the educational departments of Delhi Government and the MCD. It is needless to say that as per the existing law and government policies, every child with disabilities is entitled to, as a matter of right, admission in the mainstream schools. Mrs. Kiran Singh thereafter approached Mr. Ashok Agarwal, who had a telephonic conversation with a teacher of the said school namely Mr. Bhupinder (as at that time the Principal was not available) and was assured that the child will be given admission. However, the child has still not been admitted by the school. Mrs Singh has lodged a written complaint with the undersigned, the copy of which is attached with this letter.

It is also submitted that Mrs Kiran was employed as an unskilled worker in a factory earning average wages of Rs. 2000/- per month. It is unfortunate that she has even lost her job because of the fact that for the last one month she has been toiling hard to get her child admitted to the said school. It is submitted that such arbitrary attitude of the school by denying admission to a disabled child is not only unconstitutional but also contrary to the provisions of Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) read with the provisions of Article 14 (right to equality), Article 21 (right to life with dignity), and Article 21-A (right to education) of the Constitution of India as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994) and the National Charter for Children, 2003. We request you to kindly take the necessary action in this regard as soon as possible and make sure that Master Vicky gets admission in the said school in Class I. The arbitrary act of the school should be taken seriously and the erring officials should be taken to task.

With regards
Ashok Agarwal, AdvocateAdvisor-
Social JuristM: 9811101923

In today’s pages: Schools, Honduras and ‘judicial eugenics’

The Times endorses an unusual idea being considered today by the L.A. Unified School Board: allowing assorted groups inside and outside the district to operate 50 newly built schools over the next four years. Yes, there are pitfalls to this idea, but it’s still the most intriguing experiment to reinvent local education to come along in years. The ongoing crisis in Honduras, meanwhile, is starting to look like it won’t be resolved without some “superpower pressure” from the United States, The Times opines. It’s time to impose sanctions on those behind the coup that ousted the country’s rightful president, Manuel Zelaya, and take other actions aimed at restoring democracy. “Failure to return to constitutional order would send a signal to the rest of Latin America that once again political problems can be solved with an old-style coup.”  And we celebrate the nomination of Regina Benjamin as surgeon general. This “angel-like” figure, known for her work bringing clinics to rural areas, rebuilding health centers devastated by Hurricane Katrina and leading medical associations, “has the potential to be one of the strongest voices in public health in decades.”

On the Op-Ed page, columnist Jonah Goldberg raises an eyebrow over a recent comment in the New York Times from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:  ’Frankly I had thought that at the time [Roe vs. Wade] was decided,’ Ginsburg told her interviewer, Emily Bazelon, ‘there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.’  Goldberg lists other prominent abortion backers, including former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, who appeared to think that abortion was necessary to cull undesirable elements — like the poor and minorities — from the population. He’d like to see more questioning of such attitudes in the media.

Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project says the Obama administration is breaking its promise to bring transparency to government surveillance programs. The administration is reportedly proceeding with a Bush-era plan to use the National Security Agency to screen government computer traffic on private-sector networks, a program known as Einstein 3 that has no intrinsic security value — but will allow spooks to read e-mail communication between the government and private citizens.  And Deborah Doctor of Disability Rights California challenges Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to document all the fraud he claims to have identified in the state’s In-Home Supportive Services program, a quarter of whose funds he says are wasted. The governor not only hasn’t proven the accuracy of that figure, he has proposed fixes that could well cost more than they would save.

Los Angeles Times

The Supreme Court in summation

The Supreme Court term just ended was marked by close rulings but also surprising consensus.

The most important prism through which to view the U.S. Supreme Court term that ended last week is the wisdom of the court’s decisions — or the lack of it. But the results of Justice David H. Souter’s last term on the court also illuminate questions about the court’s role that are
sure to figure in the Senate confirmation hearings of his designated successor, Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Our own view of the court is that it isn’t a legislature by another name in which liberals and conservatives pursue predetermined agendas in the guise of interpreting the Constitution. Although every justice brings personal and philosophical predilections to the bench, the credibility of the court depends on the perception that its members strive to subordinate those preferences in particular cases.

As for “judicial activism,” a charge hurled mainly at liberals by conservatives and occasionally vice versa, we believe that the court ought to defer to other branches of government when the legal issues are clear. The problem is that they often aren’t clear. Justices shouldn’t actas algorithms to process facts; they are selected by presidents to apply enduring constitutional principles to evolving conflicts. In cases in which the Constitution doesn’t clearly command a particular result — on issues as diverse as racial equality, gun ownership and the rights of criminal defendants — there is a principle that should guide the court. It’s the motto engraved on its own building: “Equal Justice Under Law.”

Factions vs. consensus

By those two standards — open-mindedness about individual cases, coupled with a special vigilance about violations of individual rights — this past term produced mixed results but not the rightward lurch that some feared.

The fact that 23 out of 74 signed decisions were decided by 5-4 votes, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy again playing the pivotal role, perpetuates the image of inflexible factions on the court. At the same time, in some cases the court achieved consensus in a way that didn’t
upend protections for civil rights or usurp the prerogatives of Congress. That may have reflected a rededication by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to the ideal of judicial modesty he trumpeted at his confirmation hearings — or, as more cynical observers suspect, Roberts may be engaged in an incremental undermining of precedents he opposes. Either way, the wrecking crew feared by some civil rights groups never materialized.

The court didn’t gut a provision of the Voting Rights Act requiring states with a history of voting discrimination to clear changes in election procedures with the Justice Department, though Roberts’ opinion in the 8-1 decision put Congress on notice that it should reconsider whether those states have redeemed themselves. It did not declare unconstitutional a rule requiring employers to show that tests that disproportionately exclude minorities are job-related, even as it held 5 to 4 that New Haven, Conn., misread that principle in discarding a test on which no black firefighters earned a promotion. It upheld on a 5-4 vote punishment for broadcasters who inadvertently air vulgar expletives, but left for another day whether such reprisals violate the 1st Amendment. In one action that does suggest the court might soon abandon a precedent, it postponed a ruling on whether an anti-Hillary Rodham Clinton documentary violated part of the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law. In September, it will hear arguments on whether that section of the law violates the Constitution.

Other rulings were unalloyed victories for those who depend on the court to right wrongs committed, or ignored, by other institutions. By an 8-1 vote, the court ruled that school officials violated the rights of a 13-year-old girl when they strip-searched her on suspicion that she was hiding a prescription painkiller. By a 5-4 margin, it held that an elected West Virginia Supreme Court justice should have recused himself from a lawsuit involving a major campaign benefactor. In another 5-4 vote, it ruled that the 6th Amendment’s confrontation clause requires that forensic experts be cross-examined about their findings, a recognition that crime labs aren’t infallible. Deferring to Congress’ decision to make special accommodations for disabled students, it ruled 6 to 3 that parents may be reimbursed for private-school tuition if a public school is found to have ignored a child’s disability.

There was one decision that can only be deplored as a dereliction of the court’s duty to provide a last resort for victims of injustice. By another 5-4 vote, it ruled that convicted defendants have no constitutional right to DNA evidence that might exonerate them. Roberts’ majority opinion rationalized inaction by noting that most states offer access to DNA results, small comfort for prisoners who live elsewhere.

Questions for Sotomayor

When she appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week, Sotomayor can expect to be asked about some of the cases decided in the past term, notably the ruling in the firefighters case that overturned a decision by her and two other federal appeals court judges. If Republicans on the committee are fair-minded, they won’t argue that Sotomayor is somehow disqualified because five justices disagreed with her in a complicated case. She followed the rules as written and deferred to the actions of a local government; now the Supreme Court has exercised its right to change those rules. Still, that doesn’t mean Sotomayor can’t be asked if she agrees with the reasoning in that case and others decided this term.

It’s also fair to ask her to pronounce on the broader issues raised in those cases: How important is consensus on the court? How far and in what situations should the court defer to Congress and state legislatures, city councils and school boards? Should the court apply special scrutiny to cases in which civil liberties rather than economic interests are at stake? The fact that Sotomayor is likely to be confirmed easily should make her more willing than past nominees to discuss her view of the court on which she aspires to sit.

From the Los Angeles Times

Editorial

July 5, 2009