Mental & Physical Disability Law Reporter The Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law

Feature Article

The "Special Feature" section of the Law Reporter contains bylined articles written by disability professionals discussing significant legal developments and trends.

Listed below are articles that have appeared in the Law Reporter

Developments and Trends in the Status of Public Guardianship: Highlights of the 2007 National Public Guardianship. Study by Winsor C. Schmidt, Pamela B. Teaster, Erica F. Woods, Susan A. Lawrence, and Marta S. Mendiondo: discusses the conclusions and recommendations of the second national study on public guardianship, conducted from 2003-06.

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008: Analysis and Commentary (September / October 2008). This article discusses the changes made by the recently enacted ADA Amendments Act of 2008, in particular those made to the original Act’s definition of “disability.”

Refueling Assistance for Drivers with Disabilities (July / August 2008). This article discusses the problems that drivers whose disabilities prevent them from pumping their own gas at self-service pumps continue to face despite the protection of the Americans with Disabilities Act and various state laws. The article includes a chart of those state laws.

2008 Employment Decisions Under the ADA Title I-Survey Update (May / June 2008). Provides the results from the Commissions' ninth annual survey of employer - employee wins under the ADA Title I for 2007.

The ADA Act of 2007: Why Is It Necessary? (March / April 2008) For this issue, Michael E. Waterstone, Chair of the Reporter’s Editorial Advisory Board and Associate Professor of Law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, asked several individuals who, and organizations that have been directly involved in the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 to comment on their work and views as to why the Act is needed.

Competency of Criminal Defendants to Waive Assistance of Counsel at Trial (January / February 2008). Provides the American Bar Association’s ( ABA) amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Indiana v. Edwards, case reviewing what the U.S. Constitution permits states to do with regard to establishing competency standards for criminal defendants who wish to waive counsel and represent themselves. The brief is followed by a summary of the existing law pertaining to competency to stand trial, to waive counsel, and to represent oneself, drawn directly from MentalDisability Law, Evidence and Testimony: A Comprehensive ReferenceManual for Lawyers, Judges and Mental Disability Professionals, written by John Parry, J.D., and Eric Y. Drogin, J.D., Ph.D.

Final Regulations on School Assessments: An Attempt to Align the NCLBA and the IDEA . (November/December 2007). Discusses final regulations on education assessments under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), which went into effect on May 09, 2007.

A Quick Overview of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Its Implications for Americans with Disabilities (September / October 2007). Describes the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its implications for Americans with disabilities, and urges the United States to sign the Convention, despite opposition by the Bush Administration.

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