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News Release        May 14, 2001 The Honorable Senator Patrick Leahy       United States Senate Washington,D.C. Dear Senator Leahy: President Bushs nomination of Jeffrey Sutton for federal judgeship is of great concern to members of the disability community and it is our hope that you will be willing to meet with representatives of the ADA WATCH to discuss our opposition. The ADA WATCH is a campaign to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities. This includes an informational network designed to alert and activate the grassroots to respond to threats to the ADA from Congress, the Administration, and the courts. The ADA Watch is making the judicial nomination of Jeffrey Sutton a top priority and a great majority of our partners are united in opposing this nomination in light of Mr. Sutton's outspoken disregard for the civil rights of people with disabilities. The nomination of a lawyer who has enthusiastically argued against the constitutionality of the ADA is hardly consistent with the Bush Administration's stated support of the ADA and the legacy of the man who signed the ADA into law, President George H. Bush. Mr. Sutton has made it clear that he is not supportive of the rights granted to people with disabilities by Congress through the passage of the ADA.  Despite extensive documentation of state government discrimination against people with disabilities, Mr. Sutton enthusiastically supported the position that Congress did not have the authority to create the important civil rights protections afforded by the ADA. Mr. Sutton told the Supreme Court last fall when he argued the Garrett case for Alabama that the ADA "exaggerated discrimination problems by states." He told the court that the ADA was "not needed" and used similar arguments to weaken civil rights laws in the Kimel and Sandoval cases.  His belief that laws of the various states provide adequate protections ignores the hundreds of pages of testimony before Congress that detailed the discrimination faced by people with disabilities across the country at the hands of state government agencies. Please understand the ADA Watch's respectful opposition to this nomination and our concern that the nomination of Mr. Sutton represents a serious threat to the civil rights of people with disabilities. Sincerely, Jim Ward ADA WATCH Coordinator