Sunday, February 19, 2012

US DOJ ADA Complaint For Discrimination By The Florida Bar

From: "Mary Day-Petrano"

To: ADA.complaint@usdoj.gov, nfbnewsline@nfb.org, afbinfo@afb.net, AADB-info@aadb.org, actioncenter@asha.org, public.relations@gallaudet.edu, IDCVisions@gmail.com, info@nationaldb.org, sharon.caserta@jaxlegalaid.org, scott@harrisonlaw.net, "Autistic Self Advocacy Network" , advocacy@autismspeaks.org

Cc: dpetrano@yahoo.com, hsh54@dbksmn.com, acbates@maherlawfirm.com, lsmith@southerntrialcounsel.com

Mary USF scans APR 20 '09[1].pdf

To UNITED STATES DOJ DISABILITY RIGHTS AND ALL BLIND / DEAF / AUTISM DISABILITY ORGANIZATIONS:

First, this writing constitutes a Complaint of Unlawful Disability Discrimination Against The Florida Bar and its Lawyer Regulation Policy-Maker Official, Kenneth Marvin. I am asking for DOJ enforcement of my rights as a person diagnosed with Autism, hearing, and vision disabilities against The Florida Bar. The Florida Bar was held to be a "public entity" subject to comply with all aspects of Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act in Florida Bar v. Clement, 662 So.2d 690 (Fla.1995).

The issues of Title II ADA non-compliance may affect millions of disabled Americans who are blind, deaf, and/or have Autism Spectrum disabilities. Enforcement in this matter would provide broad relief to a large number of disabled Americans.

I am an ABA law school graduate who passed the California Bar Exam and have been unlawfully discriminated against since 2002 in access to my Florida Bar license and numerous other Florida Bar services including hiring a lawyer and making a grievance complaint.

I have recently discovered why this pervasive unlawful discrimination is occurring in Florida, unchecked. The Florida Bar's head of Lawyer Regulation, Kenneth Marvin, stated in public records response I obtained this week (that any disabled American can request and receive through a public records request), the following:

"The ADA does not require The Florida Bar to mandate disability training."

"the ADA does not require The Florida Bar or any other entity to alter the basic function or nature of a particular service or function, even if such alteration would allow for greater access to the disabled."


Mr. Marvin believes that "altering" formats for the blind, deaf, Autism, and other disabilities from a paper print format (and regular telephone format) to braille, audio cassette, sign language interpreter, iPads, AAC e-formats to provide "effective communications" and meaningful access is not required by the ADA.


Mr. Marvin as TFB policymaker (and head of Lawyer Regulation whose job it is to discipline lawyers who discriminate against the disabled) informed me that Title II of the ADA does not require the Bar to "alter" paper print formats to provide ANY of the alternative formats and auxiliary aids and services listed in the Title II ADA implementing regulation, 28 C.F.R. Sec. 35.104.

Lawyers representing the deaf have complained about The Florida Bar's ongoing effective communications auxiliary aids and services and alternative formats access violations of Title II of the ADA for years and nothing has been done to bring The Florida Bar into Title II ADA compliance harming millions of disabled people. e.g., http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/jnnews01.nsf/8c9f13012b96736985256aa900624829/ff4f563c49d099b38525795d0049a8e2!OpenDocument.

I am making this DOJ Complaint, as well as alerting the above blind, deaf, and Autism organizations about this widespread unlawful disability discrimination because millions of disabled Americans and severely Autistic people who are part of the public The Florida Bar is charged with protecting are being hurt by Mr. Marvin's policies of unlawful discrimination and exclusion of the disabled in services provided for lawyer representation, lawyer complaints, and Court access in Florida.

Mr. Marvin is refusing to allow blind, deaf, and Autistic adults in Florida to hire a lawyer, make a Bar grievance, or participate in any Bar service because he says Title II of the ADA does not require any of the listed auxiliary aids and services in Sec. 35.104:

"(1) Qualified interpreters on-site or through video remote interpreting (VRI) services; notetakers; real-time computer-aided transcription services; written materials; exchange of written notes; telephone handset amplifiers; assistive listening devices; assistive listening systems; telephones compatible with hearing aids; closed caption decoders; open and closed captioning, including real-time captioning; voice, text, and video-based telecommunications products and systems, including text telephones (TTYs), videophones, and captioned telephones, or equally effective telecommunications devices; videotext displays; accessible electronic and information technology; or other effective methods of making aurally delivered information available to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing;

(2) Qualified readers; taped texts; audio recordings; Brailled materials and displays; screen reader software; magnification software; optical readers; secondary auditory programs (SAP); large print materials; accessible electronic and information technology; or other effective methods of making visually delivered materials available to individuals who are blind or have low vision;

(3) Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; and

(4) Other similar services and actions.” 28 C.F.R. Sec. 35.104.


This is something your DOJ Civil Rights Enforcement and the above-disability organizations need to take up, and need to either find a way to get Mr. Marvin some Title II ADA training or ask that he resign his policymaking position. In sum, millions of blind, deaf, and Autism Spectrum disabled people need some Title II ADA enforcement in Florida.

News accounts are rife on a daily basis with horrible abuses being perpetrated on vulnerable blind, deaf, and Autistic people with disabilities every day. Recently, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that even the most severely disabled person must be given communication access to put a stop to the abuses being committed every day against vulnerable disabled populations. http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/10/landmark-supreme-court-ruling-says-mentally-disabled-adults-can-give-reliable-court-testimony/.

I have been personally assaulted in the federal Courthouse in Tampa by a lawyer licensed by The Florida Bar on account of my severe vulnerable Autism and Mr. Marvin refuses to provide Autism access (an alternative format to the inaccessible paper print grievance format) in order to shield the lawyer from Bar discipline.

Is it OKAY for a Florida lawyer to aggress, clench fists, waive arms to hit, and advance toward a vulnerable severely Autistic developmentally disabled woman in a Courtroom ?

Is it OKAY for Mr. Marvin to prevent the vulnerable severely Autistic developmentally disabled woman who was criminally assaulted from making a Bar grievance against the abuser's Bar license ?

Why are blind, deaf, and Autistic people in Florida being denied the right to complain those who criminally assault and abuse them ? Why are blind, deaf, and Autistic people in Florida being denied the right to auxiliary aids and services to ensure the communication access Title II of the ADA says we get for hiring a lawyer, filing a complaint against lawyers who prey on the disabled, and for Court access ?

The DOJ makes mandatory Title II ADA training a requirement. http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1004&issue_id=92006 ("Failure to Train. Another emerging theory of liability is based on a failure to train officers on Title II of the ADA and on how to interact with individuals with disabilities. Plaintiffs have successfully alleged that the failure of a city or county to properly train its ... officers for peaceful encounters with individuals with disabilities resulted in Title II ADA discrimination.21 In order to comply with the nondiscrimination mandate, public employees must be trained ...24 The DOJ puts great emphasis on training, making it a key provision of settlement agreements it reaches.25").

I am requesting DOJ Title II ADA enforcement action, as well as the above-referenced disability organizations to get involved in ensuring these unlawful disability effective communication and access rights be addressed

Millions of blind, deaf, and Autism Spectrum people are being denied basic Constitutional and civil rights in Florida. Pls. help.

Respectfully,
Mary Katherine Day-Petrano

cc: dpetrano@yahoo.com, David F. Petrano, Esq.

Florida Bar Head of Lawyer Regulation Says Its Okay To Diss-Off The Americans With Disabilities Act and Disabled People

My experiences being Totally discriminated against on account of my Autism by The Florida Bar, and derivatively by numerous Bar members it licenses, is ongoing and continuing. I have much material to get up and posted relating to my earlier posts. I have been swamped with work, and have not been able to post lately. In the meantime, however, I MUST post THIS as it affects essentially EVERY disabled person in Florida.

I would just like everyone to see the ABSURD statements being made about the Americans With Disabilities Act by Kenneth Marvin, the Florida Bar's head of Lawyer Regulation (and I invite everyone to check them against materials on the DOJ ADA homepage):

"The ADA does not require The Florida Bar to mandate disability training."

"the ADA does not require The Florida Bar or any other entity to alter the basic function or nature of a particular service or function, even if such alteration would allow for greater access to the disabled."

Mr. Marvin believes that "altering" formats for blind, deaf, Autism, and other disabilities from a paper print format to braille, audio cassette, sign language interpreter, IPads, AAC e-formats to provide meaningful access is not required by the ADA.

Mr. Marvin is not just a lawyer. He is head of lawyer regulation for the state of Florida. He thinks it is not a violation of ADA civil rights to discriminate against disabled Americans.