Supreme Court Roundup 

Recently, The U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant review in the case of Brendan Dassey, an individual with learning and developmental disabilities sentenced to life in prison for murder based solely on a confession without any physical evidence linking him to the crime. Read The Arc’s statement here.

And, in case you missed it, you can read The Arc’s take on three decisions from the 2017 Supreme Court term resulting in victories for people with disabilities below:

• • Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1: unanimously holding that the “IDEA demands more” and noting that IEPs must be “appropriately ambitious” and provide every child the “chance to meet challenging objectives.”

 

• •  Moore v. Texas: rejecting Texas’s use of stereotypical and outdated factors—rather than well-established clinical standards—to determine intellectual disability in death penalty cases on the grounds that they “create an unacceptable risk that persons with intellectual disability will be executed.” See The Arc’s recent statement on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decision on remand.

 

•  Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools: unanimously holding that independent disability discrimination claims may proceed against school districts, removing important barriers for students with disabilities seeking redress under the ADA and Section 504.

Upon his nomination to the Court in 2017, The Arc also published a review of Justice Neil Gorsuch’s disability rights record. A similar review of recent Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s disability rights record is forthcoming