A coalition of more than 400 national, state, and local disability organizations is opposing Jeffrey Sutton, President Bush’s controversial pick to fill a lifetime seat on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. As the Senate Majority leadership today announced Sutton’s hearing date of January 29th, opposition events in Washington and around the nation were also being scheduled.

Advocates will leave Sutton’s home state of Ohio on January 29th and join disability rights supporters from around the nation in Washington on January 30th . The event at the U.S. Capitol is being coordinated by the National Coalition for Disability Rights as part of the organization’s ADA Watch program.  Sutton is being opposed by hundreds of disability organizations because of a history of activism to roll back disability rights laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as federal protections regarding Age Discrimination, Violence Against Women, and the rights of Medicaid recipients.  (See ADA Watchfor a list of organizations and more info.) 

Jim Ward, NCDR’s president stated today: “As the nation celebrates the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., whose words and actions have been a model for the disability rights movement, it is deeply troubling that the U.S. Senate will be considering a nominee – an attorney who has spent most of his career rolling back disability and civil rights protections – for a lifetime seat on the Federal Court.” Ward continued, “With strong ties to the Federalist Society and its extreme State’s Rights agenda, Sutton actively fought to weaken the rights of state employees to seek redress for discrimination under the ADA.  He fought to strip Medicaid beneficiaries of their legal rights to sue for services. He even fought on the wrong side of the historic Olmstead decision, arguing that unnecessarily keeping people with disabilities in institutions was not a form of discrimination.  The Senate must reject this activist nominee and the President should pick nominees whose records indicate a willingness to uphold Congress’ authority to invoke the ADA – the national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against people with disabilities.”