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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 30,2003 National Coalition for Disability Rights 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20004 Phone: 202-661-4722 FAX: 202-318-4040 Email: adawatch@aol.com WEB: www.adawatch.org Contact: Jennifer Burnett (717) 335-3340 jburnett@dejazzd.com Janine Bertram-Kemp (503)504-9787 People's Hearing will Set the Sutton Record Straight People with disabilities to testify about the impact of judiciary activism Washington - January 30, 2003: Hundreds of people with disabilities attended yesterday's Sutton Judiciary hearing. Today they will have an opportunity to tell the story of how Sutton's record of aggressive efforts to dismantle civil rights protections has affected their lives. At 1:30PM, ADA Watch is sponsoring a People's Hearing in 138 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to examine the impact of Mr. Sutton's activism on people with disabilities. Dozens of individuals from Sutton's home-state of Ohio, who traveled yesterday from a protest in their state capitol, will share their stories and illustrate the threats of Federalism to real people. The Judiciary Committee hearing on Sutton, Cook, and Roberts was delayed yesterday when numerous people with disabilities, many of them wheelchair users, demanded an opportunity to attend the public hearing. Their presence was noted throughout the hearing, as Senator after Senator asked Sutton to comment on his record regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the landmark Olmstead decision, which he opposed in a brief filed with the Supreme Court, and the Garrett decision, which forever weakened the intent of Congress in passing the ADA. Using similar legal machinations to his Supreme Court appearances, Sutton deftly avoided most Senators' questions. "In his hearing, Sutton dodged direct questions about his extensive writings and speeches which advance an agenda to undo the work of a democratically elected Congress in the area of individual rights. Sutton refuses to acknowledge that this kind of judicial activism leaves him too biased for a lifetime seat on the Federal court," stated Jim Ward, President of the National Coalition for Disability Rights (NCDR) NCDR is an alliance of more than 500 national, state, and local disability organizations joined to protect and strengthen the civil rights of people with disabilities. NCDR's ADA Watch has united hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals in opposition to the confirmation of Jeffrey Sutton to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and has organized opposition events in Washington, DC and in Columbus, Ohio. ###