Who We Are:

ADA Watch is a project of:  National Coalition for Disability Rights (NCDR) 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20004 Email: info@adawatch.org Voice: 202-661-4722      Fax: 202-318-4040   Staff: Jim Ward, President and Founder Jennifer Burnett, Chief Operating Officer Tom Olin, Photographer and Historian Russ Holt, Director of Accessibility Programs Christina Baker, Administrative Assistant   National Advisory Council: Justin Dart, Jr. Honorary Founding Chair Michael Allen Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law Nan Aron Alliance for Justice Shereen Arent American Diabetes Association Ron Bassman National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy Marca Bristo Access Living The Honorable Tony Coelho Curtis Decker National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems Kyle Glozier National Disabled Student Union Claudia Gordon National Black Deaf Advocates Wade Henderson Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Judith Heumann World Bank International Anne-Marie Hughey National Council on Independent Living Andrew Imparato American Association of People with Disabilities Bob Kafka ADAPT Janine Bertram Kemp Cedar Media Ralph G. Neas People For the American Way Rebecca Ogle Mike Oxford NCIL, ADAPT, TILRC Lee Page Paralyzed Veterans of America Michele Pollak AARP Debra Robinson Speaking For Ourselves Marcie Roth National Spinal Cord Injury Association Jamie Ruppmann TASH Pope Simmons Mental Health Liaison Group Nancy Starnes National Organization on Disability Debra Fletter Ward Wired On Wheels, Inc. Patrisha Wright Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Tony Young Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD)   ADA WATCH TIME LINE: May, 2000: Hundreds of people with disabilities filled the halls of Congress to protest the introduction of the ADA Notification Act by Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla-16th).  Disability advocates gather and plan to defeat the amendment that will weaken the ADA, delay enforcement, and discourage voluntary compliance with the ADA.  Advocates, consumers, and service organizations continue to work in coalition planning celebration activities to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the ADA. July 26, 2000 America celebrates the 10th anniversary of the ADA while the list of cosponsors of the ADA Notification Act continues to grow.  July - October, 2000: Advocates and consumers prepare to influence public opinion and educate lawmakers regarding the Supreme Court Case, University of Alabama v. Garrett. The fundamental issue to be decided by the court is whether Congress had the constitutional authority under the 14th amendment to enact ADA. The 14th amendment, passed after the Civil War, guarantees all citizens equal protection under the law and a right to due process of law. With Jeffrey Sutton representing the Alabama, the Garrett is the latest in a series of cases in which states have challenged Congresses power to enact legislation regulating state conduct. October 3, 2000: Numerous disability rights, consumer, and service organizations join forces in the "March For Justice" rally and march from the US Capitol Building to the Supreme Court. The rally is to bring attention to the Supreme Court which will begin to hear oral argument in The University of Alabama v. Garrett, a case that challenges the constitutionality of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The Alabama Attorney General argues that parts of the federal law known as the “Civil Rights Act for People with Disabilities” violates States rights and an adverse decision could wipe out all protections against discrimination by public entities on the basis of mental or physical disability. Thousands of people with disabilities from across America gathered and leaders speak out against the University of Alabama's case against Pat Garrett, a nurse who was fired soon after being diagnosed with breast cancer.  Civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King III, Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, and Ralph Neas join the disability community at this event.    October 10, 2000: On the eve of the oral arguments for the Garrett case, disability rights advocates hold a candlelight vigil and camp out on the steps of the Supreme Court.  The event is covered on NBC Nightly News.  January, 2001: ADA WATCH, an informational network designed to inform and activate the disability grassroots in response to threats to the ADA, is launched.  A coalition of participating organizations is formed and includes members of the March for Justice organizing committee, AAPD, ADAPT, NAPAS, NCIL, and organizations of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Rights Task Force.   February 21, 2001: The Supreme Court announces the 5-4 decision in the University of Alabama v. Garrett.  By the narrowest of margins, the Court rules that Congress exceeded its authority when it legislated the right to sue states under the ADA.  The new ADA WATCH network is notified and, joining forces with the CCD Rights Task Force, more than 60 leaders of disability organizations gather in Washington to plan a media response to the Garrett decision. March 20, 2001: The ADA Notification Act is reintroduced in the House by Congressman Mark Foley.  ADA WATCH distributes action alerts asking advocates to contact Congress and vote against this weakening amendment.  Leaders lobby on the Hill in an attempt to limit the number of cosponsors. March 27, 2001: Jeffrey Sutton, the attorney who argued against the Americans with Disabilities Act before the U. S. Supreme Court in the Garrett case, is reportedly on President George W. Bush's short list for the federal judgeship of the Circuit Court which reviews appeals from the federal district courts in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Sutton, a former law clerk for conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, told the Court last fall when he argued the Garrett case for Alabama that the ADA "exaggerated discrimination problems by states." The ADA was "not needed," he told the Court, since all 50 states had disability anti-discrimination laws already. Besides the Garrett case, Sutton, a state solicitor, successfully argued in support of states' rights in the Kimel case, in which the U. S. Supreme Court ruled, in Dec., 1999, that the Age Discrimination Act was unconstitutional. Many of the same arguments used in Kimel were used by Sutton to argue against the ADA's constitutionality in the Garrett case.  The ADA WATCH coalition is asked to contact the White House and discourage the nomination of Sutton, a choice which contradicts the legacy of President George H. W. Bush who signed the ADA into law. May 9, 20001: President Bush announces judicial nominees including controversial Jeffrey Sutton for the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. May 14, 2001: Release of ADA WATCH letter to President Bush, describing the disability community's opposition to the nomination of Jeffrey Sutton and requesting a meeting between the President and coalition leaders.  The letter states:  "The nomination of a lawyer who has enthusiastically argued against the constitutionality of the ADA and other civil rights protections is hardly consistent with your Administration's stated support of the ADA and the legacy of the man who signed the ADA into law, President George H. W. Bush."  The nomination of Sutton is described as a "serious threat to the civil rights of people with disabilities." May 19, 2001: The ADA WATCH coalition announces the initiation of an aggressive campaign to defeat the nomination of Jeffrey Sutton to the Federal Court. Following a ADA WATCH press conference at the annual meeting of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), more that 500 participants, many of them wheelchair users, marched to the White House and protested the President's nomination of Jeffrey Sutton.  They called on President Bush to withdraw the nomination and Presidential Medal of Honor recipient, Justin Dart, widely respected as the "father" of the ADA reminded the audience that "the ADA is the world's first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities.  Barbara Bush has described it as the finest accomplishment of her husband's administration.  Abraham Lincoln led this nation to war and died to establish the authority of our federal government to protect the rights of our citizens no matter what their state of residence.  It is very difficult to understand how President George W. Bush could send to the Federal Court a man who challenges the "across the board" constitutionality of a great civil rights law written in the tradition of Abraham Lincoln and signed by his father, George Bush, Sr.  May 23, 2001:   Jeffrey Sutton is scheduled to be one of several nominees to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  ADA WATCH organizes people with disabilities and advocates from as far away as Pennsylvania begin preparations to protest at the hearing.  ADA WATCH sends letters to the Judiciary Committee members asking them to vote against Sutton.  The pressure from the disability community and Democratic committee members’ reluctance to move quickly on the nominees leads to postponement of the hearing.  Sen. Jeffords becomes an Independent, the Democrats now control the Judiciary Committee and the controversial hearing is put off until the later this year allowing for a more complete examination of the Sutton record.  May 29, 2001: Before the Supreme Court, Casey Martin wins the right to use a golf cart Against the PGA.  While this is a victory, it is specific only to this case and on the same day bad news comes from the court in the Buchannon case. Buchhannon, by limiting the awarding of attorneys fees, has the practical effect of a judicial elimination of the ability to bring meritorious civil rights claims.  June 13, 2001: Disability Rights Day on Capitol Hill includes panel presentation by ADA WATCH participating organizations.  The day also includes a forum on voting rights to advocate for accessible voting equipment.  The event includes Sen. James Jeffords, Rep. John Conyers, and Rep. Jim Langevin. July 26, 2001: The ADA WATCH web site is launched on the 11th Anniversary of the ADA.  The site includes automated registration to receive ADA WATCH action alerts and to join petitions against the confirmation of Jeffrey Sutton, as well as opposing the ADA Notification Act.  Also included is a sign-up button to encourage states to waive their sovereign immunity against ADA lawsuits.  The site is made possible with generous support from Wired on Wheels, an online non-profit designed to rate local services for accessibility.          ADA Watch is a program of: National Coalition for Disability Rights (NCDR) Jim Ward, President 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20004 info@adawatch.org Voice: 202-661-4722 Fax: 202-318-4040     back to top of page