In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the civil rights of people with autism and other disabilities.
ADA enforcement and efforts to weaken the law have been important disability issues since the law passed in 1990. The latest threat is Acheson Hotels v. Laufer, a Supreme Court case about whether disability advocates should be allowed to sue businesses for ADA violations even if they haven’t personally visited them. Disability organizations are again sounding the alarm and have submitted detailed amicus briefs advocating a broad interpretation of who can help enforce the ADA – a law which was deliberately crafted to depend on citizen enforcement more than on government oversight.
If the Supreme Court weakens the ADA, what policy changes would politicians support to remedy the situation? And how would presidential candidates weigh potential court nominees’ positions on the ADA and other disability rights laws? Would they appoint justices who would defend disability rights, or weaken them?
