The Southeast ADA Center, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, is pleased to announce the launch of a new podcast series, Disability Rights Today –your source for in depth discussion about important court cases that shape the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In celebration of the 31st ADA anniversary, please join us on July 26 for our next episode featuring the recently decided court case – Crawford v. Hinds County Board of Supervisors, (5th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2021). Topics include jury duty and courthouse access. Our guests will be the plaintiff, Dr. Scott Crawford and his lead counsel, Andrew Bizer, with the law firm Bizer & Dereus, New Orleans, LA.
On Disability Rights Today (DRT) each episode will explore the facts, issues, and arguments of the court case, and also how the case might change the legal rights and the lives of people with disabilities. You will hear from the plaintiffs, attorneys, and subject matter experts involved in the highlighted case. The host for Disability Rights Today is Dr. Peter Blanck, an American academic, psychologist, and lawyer who holds the titles of University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. The podcast will appeal to disability rights advocates, attorneys, and others wanting to keep current on the latest legal developments involving the ADA. Tune in at disabilityrightstoday.org
Featured Case – Next Episode
On July 26, Disability Rights Today will feature Crawford v. Hinds County Board of Supervisors, (5th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2021). In 2017, wheelchair user Dr. Scott Crawford, a retired clinical neuropsychologist, sued Hinds County, Mississippi under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) saying he was unable to perform jury duty in 2012 and 2015 because of the inaccessibility of the Hinds County courthouse. U.S. District Judge Tom Lee of the Southern District of Mississippi found that Crawford had proven the Hinds County courthouse was not accessible to people with disabilities. The judge also reversed his earlier ruling that Crawford had standing, finding that the possibility of being excluded from future jury duty was too speculative. On appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court, Dr. Crawford argued he has standing both as a juror and as an engaged citizen. On June 16, 2021, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court found that Dr. Crawford did, indeed, have standing.
About BBI
The Burton Blatt Institute (“BBI”) at Syracuse University reaches around the globe in its efforts to advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities. Through program development, research, and public policy guidance, BBI advances the full inclusion of people with disabilities. BBI builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, a pioneering disability rights scholar. BBI has offices in Syracuse, NY; Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; New York City, NY; and Lexington, KY. bbi.syr.edu
About the Southeast ADA Center
The Southeast ADA Center is a leader in providing information, training, and guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and disability access tailored to the needs of business, government, and individuals at local, state, and regional levels. It also conducts research to reduce and eliminate barriers to employment and economic self-sufficiency and to increase the civic and social participation of Americans with disabilities. Located in Atlanta, GA, it is a project of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) of Syracuse University and one of 10 regional centers in the ADA National Network, funded since 1991 by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). adasoutheast.org
“The contents of this podcast were developed under a grant from the Administration for Community Living. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Administration for Community Living, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.”