Supreme Court win for girl with epilepsy expected to make disability lawsuits
U.S. Courts Newsroom
A teenage girl with a rare form of epilepsy won a unanimous Supreme Court ruling on Thursday that’s expected to make it easier for families of children with disabilities to sue schools over access to education.
The girl’s family says that her Minnesota school district didn’t do enough to make sure she has the disability accommodations she needs to learn, including failing to provide adequate instruction in the evening when her seizures are less frequent.
But lower courts ruled against the family’s claim for damages, despite finding the school had fallen short. That’s because courts in that part of the country required plaintiffs to show schools used “bad faith or gross misjudgment,” a higher legal standard than most disability discrimination claims.
The district, Osseo Area Schools, said that lowering the legal standard could expose the country’s understaffed public schools to more lawsuits if their efforts fall short, even if officials are working in good faith.
The family appealed to the Supreme Court, which found that lawsuits against schools should have the same requirements as other disability discrimination claims.
Children with disabilities and their parents “face daunting challenges on a daily basis. We hold today that those challenges do not include having to satisfy a more stringent standard of proof than other plaintiffs,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court.
The court rebuffed the district’s argument, made late in the appeals process, that all claims over accommodations for people with disabilities should be held to the same higher standard — a potentially major switch that would have been a “five-alarm fire” for the disability rights community, the girl’s lawyers said.
Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, wrote separately to say he would be willing to consider those arguments at some point in the future, though he didn’t say whether they would win.
But Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, saw it differently. Sotomayor wrote in another concurrence that adopting those higher standards more broadly would “eviscerate the core” of disability discrimination laws.
The girl’s attorney Roman Martinez, of Latham & Watkins, called Thursday’s ruling a win for the family and “children with disabilities facing discrimination in schools across the country.” He added that “it will help protect the reasonable accommodations needed to ensure equal opportunity for all.”
Judge blocks plan to allow immigration agents in New York City jail
A judge blocked New York City’s mayor from letting federal immigration authorities reopen an office at the city’s main jail, in part because of concerns the mayor invited them back in as part of a deal with the Trump administration to end his corruption case.
New York Judge Mary Rosado’s decision Friday is a setback for Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who issued an executive order permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies to maintain office space at the Rikers Island jail complex. City lawmakers filed a lawsuit in April accusing Adams of entering into a “corrupt quid pro quo bargain” with the Trump administration in exchange for the U.S. Justice Department dropping criminal charges against him.
Rosado temporarily blocked the executive order in April. In granting a preliminary injunction, she said city council members have “shown a likelihood of success in demonstrating, at minimum, the appearance of a quid pro quo whereby Mayor Adams publicly agreed to bring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (”ICE”) back to Rikers Island in exchange for dismissal of his criminal charges.”
Rosado cited a number of factors, including U.S. border czar Tom Homan’s televised comments in February that if Adams did not come through, “I’ll be in his office, up his butt saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?’ ”
Adams has repeatedly denied making a deal with the administration over the criminal case. He has said he deputized his first deputy mayor, Randy Mastro, to handle decision-making on the return of ICE to Rikers Island to make sure there was no appearance of any conflict of interest.
Rosado said that Mastro reports to Adams and “cannot be considered impartial and free from Mayor Adams’ conflicts.”
Mastro said in a prepared statement Friday the administration was confident they will prevail in the case. “Let’s be crystal clear: This executive order is about the criminal prosecution of violent transnational gangs committing crimes in our city. Our administration has never, and will never, do anything to jeopardize the safety of law-abiding immigrants, and this executive order ensures their safety as well,” Mastro said.
Related listings
-
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Approval to End Protections for Venezuelans
U.S. Courts Newsroom 05/11/2025The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to strip temporary legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to being deported.The Justice Department asked the high court to put on hold a ruling from a federal...
-
HK defends its immigration procedures after British MP was denied entry
U.S. Courts Newsroom 04/12/2025Hong Kong’s government on Monday defended its immigration procedures after a British member of parliament was denied entry to the Chinese city last week, an incident that has prompted concerns among U.K. officials.Wera Hobhouse, a member of the...
-
Court sides with the FDA in its dispute over sweet-flavored vaping products
U.S. Courts Newsroom 04/05/2025The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled for the Food and Drug Administration in its crackdown on sweet-flavored vaping products following a surge in teen electronic cigarette use.But the justices’ unanimous decision throwing out a federal appeals ...

Our Eugene Oregon Bankruptcy Practice
Since 2005, Erin Uhlemann has helped individuals and families facing financial difficulties file for bankruptcy relief. Erin's compassion and understanding of the law have helped hundreds of Oregonians achieve a financial fresh start. She started Willamette Valley Bankruptcy to focus on helping clients with bankruptcy and debt issues in the Lane County Area. Erin understands that choosing a bankruptcy attorney who makes you feel comfortable and confident can be as difficult as deciding whether to file a bankruptcy case. Because she knows that filing bankruptcy is not something that you planned to do or look forward to doing, Erin strives to make the process as easy as possible.
Because most people facing bankruptcy do not have extra money to pay fees, Willamette Valley Bankruptcy offers low upfront fees and will work with you to set up affordable payment plans to pay attorney fees and court filing fees. Consultations are always free so that you can get the answers you need before making any sort of financial commitment. If you have questions about attorney fees and payment plans, you can call or email today to get these questions answered.