HOW TO REPORT VIOLATIONS OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

Since every guardianship is commenced on the basis of disability, the regulations under The Americans with Disabilities Act apply. Under ADA, accommodations must be made for the disabled to appear and/or communicate to the court in order to assert the right to full participation in the judicial process. Reasonable accommodation for communication includes both a method (written words) and a service (person to help deliver them). The DPoA and DPoAHC documents qualify as written messages that become effective during the individual's impairment, and the person named as agent in the documents is the service deliverer. The court's refusal of the documents is a violation of the Disabled's right to communication under ADA Title 28 Chapter 1 Part 35 #35.160. Retaliation against the disabled and/or advocates is also a violation under Part 35 #35.134 and Part 36 #36.206.


The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has broad jurisdiction over judicial issues such as courts and judges, constitutional issues, and civil rights and liberties. A request has been submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, through the Office of its Chairman Senator Leahy, VT, to investigate the role of Probate Courts across the country in violating ADA rights with resulting personal abuses, healthcare fraud, and financial exploitation. THEY HAVE AGREED TO CONSIDER THE REQUEST CONTINGENT ON HOW MANY REPORTS COME IN FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT THIS IS A GROWING PATTERN.


We now have a specific law and a specific person to work with. Our job is to make noise. Everyone whose case has involved ADA violations, particularly the discarding of PoA documents, in Probate Court should do this:

1) Write a 1-page letter describing the ADA violations in your case in Probate Court, name the state and court, and add a paragraph about who has been hurt and who has gained from the resulting situation.

2) Send a copy of your letter to:

U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
ATTN: John Tracy, Field Representative
87 State Street, PO Box 933
Montpelier VT 05601
e-mail: John_Tracy@leahy.senate.gov

3) Send 3 more copies to your Congressional Delegation - your 2 Senators and your district's Representative in the U.S. House.