{
  "id": "R40640",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R40640",
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  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
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      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 350068,
      "date": "2009-06-23",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T02:25:15.695294",
      "title": "Civil Rights of Individuals with Disabilities: The Opinions of Judge Sotomayor",
      "summary": "Judge Sonia Sotomayor was nominated by President Obama to the U.S. Supreme Court on May 26, 2009. This report examines selected opinions written by Judge Sotomayor relating to the civil rights of individuals with disabilities and includes a discussion of cases relating to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act (PAIMI), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In addition, selected dissents, concurrences, and decisions where Judge Sotomayor joined the majority are examined.\nJudge Sotomayor\u2019s decisions are generally supportive of individuals with disabilities, but she does not always rule in favor of plaintiffs with disabilities. In her most discussed decision on disability issues, Bartlett v. New York State Board of Bar Examiners, she anticipated the legislative discussions surrounding the enactment of the ADA Amendments Act by finding that the use of self accommodations did not mean that the plaintiff was not an individual with a disability. While analyzing the statutory and regulatory language, Judge Sotomayor also examined the implications of various legal arguments noting that if a definition of disability is based on outcomes alone, it would preclude coverage of many individuals who have worked to overcome their disabilities. As is indicated by Bartlett and Judge Sotomayor\u2019s decisions relating to protection and advocacy agencies, she appears to look at the general purposes of a statute when interpreting its specific provisions. \nJudge Sotomayor\u2019s decisions often turn on the particular facts presented. Judge Sotomayor also examines the statutory language at issue, as well as the applicable regulations and guidance to inform her decisions. She also has relied upon the reasoning of other circuits in arriving at her decisions.",
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      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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}