Washington – The Supreme Court, in its first federalism decision since John Roberts became chief justice, ruled Tuesday that Congress acted within its constitutional authority when it stripped states of immunity from some lawsuits for damages by disabled prison inmates.
The unanimous opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, overturned a 2004 ruling by the federal appeals court in Atlanta, which held that Georgia was entitled to immunity from a lawsuit brought by a paraplegic prison inmate under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Scalia said that at least to the extent that the inmate’s claims indicated prison officials had violated not only the statute but also the Constitution, the suit could proceed.
The inmate, Tony Goodman, says prison officials have grossly neglected his needs for mobility and personal hygiene and that his dependence on a wheelchair has left him excluded from the law library and recreational opportunities.
The decision left questions unanswered, most notably the fate of a disability lawsuit that demonstrates violations of the statute but not of any constitutional provision. Title II of the disability act, at issue in the case, bars discrimination on the basis of disability in the “services, programs, or activities” offered by state and local governments.
Goodman’s lawsuit has never gone to trial. Scalia described it as containing “many allegations, both grave and trivial,” which the lower courts must now evaluate.
After the lawsuit was thrown out by the U.S. District Court in Georgia, the federal government intervened in the case to defend the constitutionality of applying the disabilities act to the states.