NCD #05–500
November 8, 2005
Contact: Mark S. Quigley
202-272-2004
202-272-2074 TTY
mquigley@ncd.gov

National Council on Disability Experts Available to Comment on Supreme Court's Goodman v. Georgia

WASHINGTON—National Council on Disability (NCD) experts are available to comment on tomorrow’s U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in Goodman v. Georgia, No. 04-1236.

The Goodman case will determine whether Congress acted within its power under the Fourteenth Amendment to apply Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to state prisons, jails, and other correctional facilities. This paper provides an overview of how the Goodman case fits into the larger context of federalism challenges to Congress’s power to enact various parts of the ADA as well as other civil rights laws. It then examines the Goodman case in detail and concludes that Congress had ample authority to apply Title II to correctional facilities. Congress acted based on a long history of unconstitutional treatment of inmates with disabilities, including myriad forms of cruel and unusual punishment. In light of this disturbing record and the limited remedies that Congress put in place in Title II of the ADA, Title II’s requirements are an appropriate way to remedy and prevent further unconstitutional treatment in this context.

The importance of Goodman extends beyond the question of whether Congress acted within its power under the Fourteenth Amendment. States have challenged Congress’s power to enact parts of the ADA on multiple fronts, sometimes arguing that certain applications of the ADA are simply invalid because Congress lacks any authority to pass these applications. Thus, Goodman presents the opportunity for the Supreme Court to establish that correctional facilities have an obligation to comply with Title II of the ADA. Additionally, the case may have a significant impact on how courts view the constitutionality of other applications of Title II. In light of the extraordinary record of discrimination that Congress attempted to address in the ADA, it is critical that the ADA’s protections be upheld.

For more information, please visit http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2005/goodman.htm for NCD’s position paper titled Goodman and United States v. Georgia: The Supreme Court Hears Another Case Challenging the Constitutionality of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was released today.

Experts available for comment include:

Jeffrey T. Rosen
NCD General Counsel and Director of Policy
202-272-2004
202-272-2279 TTY

Julie Carroll
NCD Senior Attorney Advisor
202-272-2004