Disabling Interpretations

"Susan Mezey argues that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 has not fulfilled its potential primarily because of the judiciary's "disabling interpretations" in adjudicating ADA claims. In a decade of litigation, judicial interpretation of the law has largely constricted the parameters of disability rights and excluded large numbers of claimants from the reach of the law. The Supreme Court has not interpreted the act broadly, as was intended by Congress, and this method of decision making has been for the most part mirrored by the courts below. The high court's rulings to expand state sovereign immunity and insulate states from liability in damage suits have also caused claimants to become enmeshed in litigation and have encouraged defendants to challenge other laws affecting disability rights. Despite the law's strong civil rights rhetoric, disability rights remain an imperfectly realized goal."--BOOK JACKET.