Since 1998, the American Bar Association Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law has been pleased to present the Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights. Each year, an award is presented to an individual who or an organization that has performed exemplary service in furthering the rights, dignity, and access to justice for people with disabilities. Paul G. Hearne, the award’s namesake, was an activist, philanthropist, and a leader for all people with disabilities. Hearne was a pioneer in advancing the cause of the disabled. Hearne helped create opportunities for himself through his tenacity, intelligence and initiative. He served as the director of Just One Break, Inc., the nation’s first private job placement agency for people with disabilities; the National Council on Disability; the Dole Foundation for Employment of People with Disabilities; the International Center for the Disabled; the Very Special Arts International Fund; and the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation.

The Commission awards this prestigious honor to one who carries on Hearne’s vision and life work.  The award will be presented at the ABA’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL by the ABA President. Starbucks is the corporate sponsor of the Hearne Award, and in the past has given the recipient a $1,000 honorarium.

Join us in recognizing outstanding public service to some of the 54 million Americans with disabilities.

 

Current Recipient

The 2008 Award was given to Claudia B. Center, a Senior Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center in San Francisco, California. Her efforts have contributed greatly to the advancement of legal rights for persons with disabilities. She has been directly involved in several landmark cases, including U.S. Airways, Inc. v. Barnett, in which she argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that there should be no presumption under the Americans with Disabilities Act that reasonable accommodation requests that may interfere with seniority rights of other workers constitute an undue burden. Barnett is frequently cited by disability advocates because of its clear articulation that rules that seem neutral on their face still may be discriminatory. She also wrote amicus curiae briefs in other important disability cases, including two other U.S. Supreme Court decisions supporting the individual rights of persons with disabilities over the sovereignty rights of the states (Board of Trustees of University of Alabama v. Garrett) and the rights of persons who have a past record of drug addition (Raytheon Company v. Hernandez), respectively. Additionally, she has helped with state and federal litigation strategies. Ms. Center was a driving force behind a coalition that broadened the definition of disability under California law and played a critical role in the passing of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, partaking in roundtables, drafting language, and negotiating with others in the disability community. Moreover, she has published and lectured across the country on disability rights issues.  

 

Past Recipients

1999	James W. Ellis
2000	Mary Lou Breslin & Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF)
2001	Stanley S. Herr *
2002	Robert Perske
2003	Disability Rights Advocate, Inc. (DRA)
2004	Anil Lewis
2005	The Honorable Rhonda J. Brown
2006	Louise A. McKown
2007	Laura Cooper-Fenimore
2008	Lester T. Pritchard
2009	Claudia B. Center

* deceased

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For any questions about the award, please contact:

William J. Phelan, IV
p: 202-662-1576
phelanw@staff.abanet.org