News

Blanck to Give Public Lectures at University of Leeds UK on People with Disabilities

May 10, 2017

BBI Chairman and University Professor, Dr. Peter Blanck, will be an honored guest at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. Blanck will give two presentations on topics related to people with disabilities during his time at the University. The first, entitled “Self-Determination and Legal Capacity: Developments in the USA on Supported-Decision Making,” will discuss law, policy and research developments on the use of supported-decision making in the United States. This lecture will occur on Thursday, March 30th from 17:00 – 18:30 BST.  Continue Reading

ABA commissions BBI to launch nationwide study to expand opportunities for disabled, LGBT+ lawyers

May 10, 2017

WASHINGTON, May,10, 2017 — The American Bar Association is launching a first-of-its kind nationwide study, conducted by the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, to identify the biases encountered by LGBT+ and/or disabled lawyers in the legal profession and to help develop and implement strategies to ameliorate such biases.  Preliminary results are expected to be released in September. Continue Reading

Logue and Blanck Collaborate for Clara Barton Museum

April 28, 2017

BBI Senior Fellow Larry Logue and BBI Chairman Peter Blanck Collaborate for Clara Barton Museum Website on “A Creature of Its Time: The Pension Bureau”

BBI Senior Fellow, and former Mississippi College Professor, Dr. Larry Logue and BBI Chairman Dr. Peter Blanck have written an online article for the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. “A Creature of Its Time: The Pension Bureau” describes the federal Pension Bureau’s struggles to withstand the flood of applications from Union veterans with disabilities and intense pressure from political parties and interest groups after the U.S. Civil War. Continue Reading

Blanck on “Disability in Prison” in Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal

April 18, 2017

BBI Chairman and University Professor, Dr. Peter Blanck, recently authored an article for the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, published by the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law. The article, entitled “Disability in Prison,” discusses the incarceration of individuals with disabilities and the less publically visible side of interactions between law enforcement officials and individuals with mental and physical disabilities. The article is based on Blanck’s remarks at the 2016 Symposium, “Beating Mental Illness: A Dialogue on Race, Gender and Disability Stereotypes in Use of Force Cases.” Continue Reading

Martinis Leads Panel on Supported Decision-Making at Saks Institute’s Spring Symposium

April 18, 2017

Jonathan Martinis
Jonathan Martinis

Jonathan Martinis, Senior Director of Law and Policy at the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI), will serve as a distinguished speaker and expert on Supported Decision-Making (SDM) at the Saks Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy, and Ethics’ Spring Symposium on Monday, April 24. The event, entitled “Supported Decision-Making: Giving Mental Health a Voice,” will be moderated by The New York Times’ Ben Carey and will feature several notable speakers and panelists including Martinis, Director of the Saks Institute and BBI Board Member Elyn Saks, SDM advocates Ryan and Susie King, and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. Continue Reading

Joshua R. Tumen joins Board of Advisors at BBI

April 11, 2017

Josh Tuman
Joshua R. Tumen

The Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University has announced the addition of Joshua R. Tumen, Esq. to its Board of Advisors. Joshua R. Tumen, Esq., is a Litigation Associate at White and Williams LLP in New York, New York. He represents corporations, commercial entities, and insurance agencies in matters including complex litigation, contractual disputes and tort claims. Continue Reading

BBI to Advise Lewis County on Emergency Communications Operating Procedures

April 5, 2017

The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University (BBI) was chosen by Lewis County, New York, through the competitive bid process, to assist the county in meeting their New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Statewide Interoperable Communications Grant requirements. The grant is focused on governance and training for Lewis County’s new multijurisdictional Land Mobile Radio system for public safety. Continue Reading

Paul Harpur publishes monograph on e-books and the book famine

March 28, 2017

Discrimination, Copyright and Equality: BBI international distinguished fellow publishes monograph on e-books and the book famine

Dr Paul Harpur, senior lecturer in law at the University of Queensland, Australia and international distinguished fellow with the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, has just published a ground breaking monograph which argues that technology now creates the possibility that everyone in the world, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, should be able to access the written word.  This is however not the case.  Continue Reading