ATLANTA - Ten years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision in Olmstead v. L.C., holding that unjustified isolation of mentally disabled individuals in institutions is a form of disability discrimination prohibited by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

As part of the 10th anniversary, Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta Legal Aid Society, the Georgia Advocacy Office, Georgia State University Center for Leadership in Disability and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP are co-sponsoring a symposium, "The Long Road Home: Perspectives On Olmstead Ten Years Later," on Friday, October 23. This year’s Georgia State University Law Review Symposium will feature presentations by nationally prominent experts in the field of disability rights and policy, and will explore the impact of the 1999 Olmstead decision on the disabled community and the future of similar litigation.

The symposium will be held at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center in Atlanta.

"This decision is considered by some to be the disability law parallel to Brown v. Board of Education," said Atlanta Legal Aid Executive Director Steve Gottlieb. "It is a defining moment in the Americans with Disabilities Act, in that it allowed individuals with mental or physical disabilities access to disability services in a community-based setting rather than an institutional setting."

The case began in 1995, when Atlanta Legal Aid filed a suit in federal court on behalf of Elaine Wilson and Lois Curtis, who sought to transfer from Georgia Regional Hospital in DeKalb County, Georgia, to a group home where they would continue to receive state-funded treatment. U.S. District Court Judge Marvin Shoob (pictured right) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit both ruled in their favor. The State of Georgia appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1999, arguing that states had the right to continue denying community-based services to people with disabilities because it historically had been in their best interest to receive treatment in nursing homes and mental health institutions.

"Elaine and Lois were determined to gain as much independence as they could," said Susan C. (Sue) Jamieson, an attorney with Atlanta Legal Aid who served as lead counsel. "The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that people with disabilities get to decide if they want to live a reasonably normal life in a community setting, and we were determined to support Elaine and Lois."

Sutherland partnered with Atlanta Legal Aid in 1998 to file the opposition to the state’s certiorari petition.  When the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, Sutherland’s team of attorneys continued working on the brief. 

"This was not just any case," said Judith A. O’Brien, Sutherland’s Partner and Pro Bono Chair. "This was a case that literally changed the world for mentally disabled individuals who were unnecessarily segregated in mental hospitals. To this day, I take deep pride in the small but key role that my law firm played in Olmstead." 

On June 22, 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that mental illness is a form of disability and that institutional isolation of a person with a disability is a form of discrimination under Title II of the ADA. Following this decision, Atlanta Legal Aid continued working to ensure Olmstead was implemented appropriately. Sutherland participated in those efforts and filed a class action seeking to extend Olmstead to residents of nursing homes.

Wilson and Curtis left Georgia Regional Hospital in 1995 after filing suit and moved into group homes in metro Atlanta. Wilson passed away in December 2004. Curtis (pictured left) continues to live on her own in a community-based setting and has found success as a folk artist.

On June 22nd of this year, President Barack Obama designated this as a "Year of Community Living" to underscore the importance of the Olmstead decision and continue to affirm the nation’s commitment to addressing isolation and discrimination against people with disabilities that still exists today.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said: "I recognize that to put an end to injustice and carry the directive of the Olmstead decision into all programs of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), we must create new partnerships. And so, today, we invite all of our public and private partners -- other federal agencies, states, consumers, advocates, providers and others to join us in embracing the Supreme Court’s vision of equal opportunity and an end to unjustified institutionalization for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses and older Americans."

Please visit www.law.gsu.edu/symposium to register. Cost of attendance is $30, which includes breakfast and lunch. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are available. For more information, contact Law Review Symposium Editor Laurice Rutledge at lmr2112@gmail.com.

Contact:
Jim Hellegaard
Director of Communications
212.413.9050
jhellegaard@gsu.edu