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Supreme Court Justices roundup Disabled at last: Supreme Court justices struggle to return to home and bench in face of rulings Fundraiser
to collect dollars
Telethon mogul Jerry Lewis and actor-director Christopher Reeve have announced formation of their joint LawCure Venture Corporation, set up to raise funds for the nine Supreme Court Justices paralyzed last summer in a freak accident. The veteran fundraisers hope to raise $87.3 billion within the next 2 years. |
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"If we can put a man on the moon, we can cure paralysis," said a tearful Reeve.
Lewis, whose successful efforts to stamp out Muscular Dystrophy have grossed funds in excess of $4.7 trillion in the past 3 decades, says he considers the Justices his "kids." He vowed to make sure that at least half the funds raised would go for Reeve's own cure. Reeve has been waiting for a cure for nearly five years.
Plans for the fundraising kickoff include a black-tie gala at the Kennedy Center and a postage stamp, proceeds from which will go to Case Western Reserve research unit for its study of body transplants as a means of curing quadriplegia. Pentagon sources confirmed that research undertaken as part of the Gulf War buildup will also be used in an unprecedented effort to "rid the country of quadriplegia as we know it in our lifetime," according to one source.
Freak Accident
The Supreme Court justices, en route to a Washington dinner celebrating the end of the 1999 term, were injured when a van carrying a group of quadriplegics plowed into their limo from behind when their chauffeur came to a sudden stop on I - 95 just north of Washington, D.C.'s beltway. Authorities say that the limo stopped when chauffeur Lyons Matthews became confused at the controls when "yelled at" by Justice Ruth Ginsburg to turn up the Diana Ross CD. Justice Ginsburg was sitting directly behind the driver's seat. The group in the van, members of a gadfly activist organization calling themselves Not Dead Yet, was en route to one of their ongoing protests at Princeton University.
Of the nine justices, Justice Clarence Thomas was removed uninjured (later medical reports now indicate likely brain damage, see box). Each of the other Justices sustained permanent injuries, ranging from C6 quadriplegia to deafness and blindness.
Justice Ginsburg, who was deafened when the Ross CD blasted her unprotected eardrums as she lay trapped in the wreckage, underwent experimental surgery earlier this month to implant a fetal cochlea, but the surgery has reportedly been unsuccessful. A series of ongoing operations is being planned. Meanwhile, Ginsburg will be placed at the Maryland State School for the Deaf, in compliance with the newly-signed Josef's Law.
Justices Blind
The other Justices remain at Cashpig DC Trauma Life Centre in its Multiple Serious Cripple Unit. All have sustained spinal cord injuries. Justices John Paul Stevens and Sandra Day O'Connor are reportedly blind as well.
Speculation continues as to the effect the injuries will have on the Justices themselves and on the upcoming Court calendar. Of intense interest to Court observers is the effect this will have on cases on the docket concerning the constitutionality of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. The Justices were scheduled to hear three cases arguing the constitutionality of the 1990 law, which gave broad civil rights to disabled persons, ranging from employment to public services to public accommodations.
Effect on legal rulings uncertain
Although a majority of the Justices were thought to be leaning toward ruling the law unconstitutional, observers now think that their current disabled state may impair their judgment on the matter.
Other legal analysts question whether the Justices can be considered "qualified persons with a disability" under the law and thus allowed to continue their employment by the U.S. Supreme Court. According to their own ruling two days before the accident, individuals who can "mitigate" the effects of their disabilities can claim no protection under the law. This raises the question, say experts, that if the Lewis-Reeve fundraiser provides technology and equipment for the judges to continue to work, can they sue to get out of Cashpig and move back into their own homes? "They will not be 'otherwise qualified persons with a disability in that case,'" says legal guru Stephen A. Silver. Others note that under the current ruling, President Clinton may choose to remove them from their positions. If they have wheelchairs and voice activated computers, they have no recourse under law.
Analysts say these questions are all thorny ones which will need to be resolved by the Supreme Court. Whether this Supreme Court or a future one, though, no one at this time can say with any certainty.
Justice Thomas thought to sustain brain damage
Justice Clarence Thomas, thrown from the back seat in the freak June 24 accident, although appearing to sustain the least injury, is now reported to have sustained a traumatic brain injury. The extent of the injury is as yet unknown, and medical experts warn that such injuries often go undetected without sophisticated and repeated testing.
"With Justice Thomas, who can tell?" said one medical expert who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"Early tests remain inconclusive," said a statement issued by Cashpig DC Trauma Life Centre. Justice Thomas will remain at Cashpig under observation for the indefinite future.