Goodman and the United States government vs.

Georgia

By:

Philip Sun

&

Hae Sung Kang

What is American with Disabilities Act of 1990??

• The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability.

• Enacted on July 26, 1990

Components of ADATitle 1 – Employment : no discrimination

against a qualified individual with a disability

Title 2 – Public Services and Transportation : requires the public agencies to comply with

regulations

Components Continued

Title 3 – Public Accommodations and Commercial Facilities: full and equal enjoyment of the services for the disabled

Title 4 – Telecommunications : equivalent services for deaf or disabled people

Title 5 – Miscellaneous Provisions

ADA Enforcement • The Department of Justice may file

lawsuits in federal court to enforce the ADA, and courts may order compensatory damages and pay back to remedy discrimination if the Department prevails.

Order!!

Order!!

States don’t like ADA!• ADA is considered as threat to state right because A

DA overrides state rights. The 11th Amendment supposedly protects the state, but it had been overridden by ADA for the last few years. The US Supreme Court favored ADA on few cases. The state right advocates are worried about ADA's title I and II. The reason is that states, cities, local government have to spend extra budget to meet the requirements. In addition, the federal government gets the power to put regulations on states. This will eventually affect government's budget planning.

11th Amendment of US Constitution

• 11th amendment protects the states from law suits from the non-citizens.

• Chisholm v. Georgia : cause of creation

• Since the federal government is so strong, the state governments must have some sovereignty

• The states' rights must be protected by this amendment.

11th Amendment vs. ADA• The 11th amendment to the Constitution

provides states with protection from lawsuits filed in federal courts.

• What if the states go against ADA rule?• Several controversial issues are rising in few

states.

versus

What did Goodman do?

• Goodman tried to shoot his girlfriend. He then somehow got off the wheelchair and beat her.

• He got 30-year sentence in Georgia prison for aggravated assault, having a firearm by a felon, and intending to distribute cocaine.

Tony Goodman’s Claim

• In Georgia State Prison, he was in the special K-Building, because of his bad behavior and the special requirements related to his disability.

• He claimed he was trapped in this K-building unit cell for many hours per day.

K

Tony Goodman Continued• Goodman also claimed th

e prison didn’t provide basic rights and adequate conditions for him. He says the officials handcuffed him in a van without any restraints to stop him from sliding down from the floor. He also couldn’t go to toilet.

• Goodman used Title II of ADA against Georgia, the Georgia Department of Corrections and eight prison officials. He wanted $600,000 from each prison official.

Does the federal government have control over the

prisons? • Both the federal and state governments

have the power under the Constitution

You fool!

The division of this power

• Type of prison matters in terms of regulations.

• County Jails : County run; misdemeanors are held here

• “Lock-ups” : Cities run; short-term incarceration

The division of this power continued

• “unified” systems : states run; for country jail and lock-ups.

• Detention centers : federal run; major urban areas or near federal courthouses to hold defendants appearing in federal court

Finial Decision of the Supreme Court

• The decision was that Congress can apply ADA to state prisons, at least so far as the conduct violates 14th amendment.

Similar Cases• In the case Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama

v. Garrett, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the states. • In the case Tennessee v. Lane, the Supreme Court ruled in

favor of the Congress. • In this case, the Supreme Court continued the ruling in

Tennessee v. Lane ruling and ruled in favor of Congress. All these involved the ADA.

•The End