Nominee Appointed to U.S. Federal Court over Protests of Disability Community
By Kay Schriner (kays@uark.edu)
Jeffrey Sutton, whose views are believed by many in the disability community to be hostile to civil rights protections for people with disabilities, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate and will take a seat on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The disability community rallied against President Bush's nomination of Sutton, but on April 29, the Senate confirmed him by a vote of 52-41. The vote was largely along party lines, with all Republicans voting for him, and all but two Democrats voting against him.
A few long-time Senate supporters of disability rights guarantees urged their colleagues not to vote for Sutton. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), a stalwart in the struggle for federal protections, proclaimed that "a vote for Jeffrey Sutton is a vote to undo the Americans with Disabilities Act."
Senator Patrick Leahy made a strong statement against Sutton. Sutton's supporters, said Senator Leahy, are underestimating the damage that could result from Sutton's judicial philosophy. Sutton's views would free states to make their own decisions about civil rights guarantees - and some states may chose not to offer adequate protections. Federal civil rights laws set a minimum standard for the states, and without these standards, states may do what they wish. The Senator said that 400 disability and civil rights organization were on record opposing Sutton's nomination.
Disability advocates were disappointed that two Democrats voted for Sutton. Jennifer Mathis with the Bazelon Center on Mental Health Law, a highly-respected legal advocacy group, said she'd been "scratching my head" over the lukewarm approach of Democrats. "We were very frustrated that they chose to fight certain battles and not others."
Sutton has been a major figure in the federalist movement in the U.S., which challenges the role of the federal government in establishing civil rights protections. Sutton has argued against disability rights laws before the U.S. Supreme Court and has been instrumental in narrowing the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In one recent Supreme Court decision, Sutton argued that states could not be sued for monetary damages by people with disabilities who have been discriminated against. (For more information, see the last edition of Disability World, "U.S. Disability Community Protests Nomination of States' Rights Advocate to Federal Appeals Court.")
Sutton's importance in the federalism debates is crucial to people with disabilities. Mathis says that "every time we have problems enforcing [disability rights] laws, it comes back to something Jeffrey Sutton did."
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