Disabling interpretations: the Americans with Disabilities Act in federal court

Abstract

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 was intended to send a clear message to society that discrimination on the basis of disability is unacceptable. As with most civil rights laws, the courts were given primary responsibility for implementing disability rights policy. Mezey argues that the act has not fulfilled its potential primarily because of the judiciary's ""disabling interpretations"" in adjudicating ADA claims. In the decade of litigation following the enactment of the ADA, judicial interpretation of the law has largely constricted the parameters of disability rights and