The Americans with Disabilities Act: The Opinions of Justice O'Connor

RS22225 -- The Americans with Disabilities Act: The Opinions of Justice O'Connor

August 18, 2005

Summary

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights statute that has as its purpose "to provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities."(1) Since its enactment in 1990, it has been the subject of numerous lower court decisions and the Supreme Court has decided nineteen ADA cases. Justice O'Connor has been in the majority in almost all of these decisions and has been a deciding vote in several 5-4 decisions, notably in the recent decisions of Garrett v. University of Alabama and Tennessee v. Lane regarding the application of the Eleventh Amendment to the ADA. This report will not be updated.