The Disability Docket

64 Pages Posted: 21 Jul 2023 Last revised: 2 Aug 2023

See all articles by Jasmine Harris

Jasmine Harris

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Karen Tani

University of Pennsylvania

Shira Wakschlag

The Arc

Date Written: July 13, 2023

Abstract

The monumental changes emanating from the contemporary Supreme Court have now generated abundant commentary—but it remains possible to glean new insights if we review the Court’s work from an alternative perspective, one that does not often inform mainstream accounts. Drawing on insights from Disability Legal Studies and other critical approaches to law, as well as from the trenches of disability advocacy and civil litigation, this Article applies a “disability lens” to the Court’s 2021 and 2022 Terms. As part of a broader symposium on “Equal Justice Under Law? A Review and Response to the Previous and Current Supreme Court Terms,” we identify three themes in the Court’s published decisions and broader docket. We highlight (1) the role of disability cases in the retrenchment of civil rights, (2) the vast and underappreciated effects that certain “non-disability” cases are likely to have on people with disabilities, and (3) the difficult choices that disability law litigators and advocates face when disability law cases end up before this Court. Throughout the Article, we suggest legal areas that would benefit from further examination through a “disability lens.”

Keywords: Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Disability Rights, Disability Law, Civil Rights, Remedies, Reproductive Rights, Social Welfare, Public Benefits, Antidiscrimination, Inequality

Suggested Citation

Harris, Jasmine and Tani, Karen and Wakschlag, Shira, The Disability Docket (July 13, 2023). American University Law Review, Vol. 72, 2023, U of Penn Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 23-26, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4509634

Jasmine Harris

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School ( email )

3501 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

Karen Tani (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

Shira Wakschlag

The Arc ( email )

1825 K St. NW Ste 1200
Washington, DC 20006
United States

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