As the new school year begins, it’s a great time to check out some of the excellent work UC Law Faculty and Students have been producing. You can view faculty scholarship at the The College of Law Scholarship and Publications repository.
In addition to faculty scholarship, check out our Student Run Journals.
The Immigration and Human Rights Law Review (IHRLR)
The University of Cincinnati Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal (“IPCLJ”)
The University of Cincinnati Law Review
This week in the Law Library we welcome our 1-L students, transfer students, and those taking short courses; provide additional summer legal research tips; and cover selected success guides to law school.
We’re so glad you’re here!
Join us on Thursday, Aug. 17th from 9:00am – 10:00am in room 160 for an introduction to the law library and library resources.
Building doors are unlocked Monday – Friday 8:00am – 5:00pm except during University of Cincinnati holidays. Law students, faculty, and staff have 24/7 access with their UC Bearcat ID cards.
Monday – Friday: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Monday – Friday: 8:00am – 5:00pm; Law students 8:00am – 6:00pm (except during fall break which will be 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Monday, Sept. 4 – CLOSED
Thursday, Nov. 23 – Friday, Nov. 24 – CLOSED
The resources below are available through the Law Library’s study aid subscriptions. For more information on accessing our study aids, view our Introduction to Study Aids video and our 1-L Study Aids page on the 1-L Survival Guide.
This book, available through the Lexis Nexis Digital Library study aid subscription (Lexis Overdrive), strategies for succeeding in law school and beyond. Many college graduates aren’t prepared for the new challenges they will face in law school. Intense classroom discussion, mock trials and moot courts, learning the language of law, and impressing potential employers in a range of interview situations—it sounds intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Finding Your Voice in Law School offers a step-by-step guide to the most difficult tests you will confront as a law student, from making a speech in front of a room full of lawyers to arguing before a judge and jury. It also explains how to lay a strong foundation for your professional reputation.Communicating effectively—with professors, at social gatherings, with supervisors and colleagues at summer jobs, and as a leader of a student organization—can have a lasting impact on your legal career.
This book, available through the West Academic study aid subscription, covers all the major concepts taught in each of the courses most commonly offered in the first year of law school: criminal law, torts, civil procedure, constitutional law, property, and contracts. Features include: an introductory chapter offering advice on how to structure a successful preparation and study process starting with the summer before law school and running straight through exams; insiders’ advice from successful law students and recent graduates on class preparation, course selection, career development, and managing the stress of law school; short lessons that provide readers with an introduction to the major concepts for a day or week of law school classes in 10-15 minutes; complete course coverage that will allow readers to get a global overview of a first-year law course in the span of an afternoon.
This book, available through the West Academic study aid subscription, gives law students weekly checklists explaining the skills necessary to successfully navigate their first year of law school. Each chapter provides a checklist of things to do that week, such as briefing cases, going over notes, outlining classes, or doing practice questions. When a new concept is introduced, this book clearly explains the concept and its purpose and provides examples. It also includes a bank of over 100 short, medium, and long practice questions in six first year subjects.
Previously, we looked at initial steps to take when you get a summer research project, researching secondary sources, the structure and organization of statutory codes and where to find them, statutory finding tools, using citators to validate statutes, researching historical codes, statutory surveys, finding cases, validating cases, general legislative history research, and state and federal legislative history research. This week we will briefly cover researching administrative law.
Any time you have a statutory issue, you will need to find any applicable administrative regulations and update those regulations. You will also want to consult administrative adjudications. Congress creates administrative agencies and delegates to them the authority to act, but they are part of the executive branch. Administrative agencies generate rules and regulations, much like a legislature generates statutes. These administrative rules and regulations help further interpret a statute. Additionally, agencies may conduct hearings and issue decisions concerning matters that fall under their jurisdiction, much like a court. Finally, agencies may also investigate and enforce violations.
Rules that are immediately effective are integrated into the “Electronic Code of Federal Regulations” also known as the e-CFR. The e‐CFR is an unofficial editorial compilation published by the Office of the Federal Register and the Government Printing Office. It is the most up-to-date version of the CFR.
The official publication of Federal rules is the Code of Federal Regulations that is published annually by the Government Printing Office. The CFR is divided into 50 subject matter titles. Each of the 50 titles are republished each year on a staggered, quarterly basis. Titles 1-16 are revised as of January 1, titles 17-27 are revised as of April 1, Titles 28-41 are revised as of July 1, and Titles 42-50 are revised as of October 1. Each title is divided into chapters usually bearing the name of the issuing agency. At the back of each CFR volume is an Alphabetical List of Agencies Appearing in the CFR, showing the title and chapter where an agency’s regulations are codified. Each chapter is further subdivided into parts which cover specific regulatory areas. Large parts may be subdivided into subparts; all parts are organized in sections, and most citations to the CFR will be provided at the section level.
So how do you find regulations? If you are following the research process, hopefully your secondary source would have given you some citations to regulations when talking about your issue. For example, if we were researching a Fair Labor Standards Act issue of overtime for outside sales employees, we would find references to the applicable regulations in the secondary source, FLSA Employee Exemption Handbook.
Your annotated code also will often refer you to relevant CFR sections. In Westlaw codes, you can find this under Context and Analysis. In Lexis Codes, it is under Research References.
If you are using online sources on Lexis or Westlaw, you can just jump to the hyperlinked CFR citations. If using a print secondary source or code, once you have a citation to a specific CFR section, you can retrieve the section by citation in Lexis and Westlaw just like you would any other document. You can also retrieve it by citation in HeinOnline and you can retrieve it by citation for free at the e-CFR or govinfo.gov.
If you don’t have a citation from a secondary source or the annotated code, you might also want to look at finding regulations by subject. The CFR has an index. You can access this index on Govinfo.gov and on HeinOnline. Lexis and Westlaw also have a CFR Index. Note that it is not the same index as the one that the Government Printing Office provides. To access the index on Westlaw, simply go to the CFR, look off to the right under Tools and Resources, and select the CFR Index. To access the index on Lexis, begin typing CFR Index in the big search box. When using either the GPO Index or the indexes on Lexis or Westlaw, one helpful hint is to start by looking under the agency or sub-agency. Remember that you can also do keyword searching for regulations. When searching administrative regulations on Lexis or Westlaw, you can add a little precision to your search by using fields and segments.
Administrative law in the states operates similarly to the federal system, although there will be some differences in terminology, agencies and agency structures, and rulemaking requirements. State legislatures give state agencies the power to create administrative law just like Congress empowers federal agencies. Once you know the state jurisdiction that controls, learn the state law that applies to regulations. This means finding the enabling acts for state agencies and the administrative procedure acts that govern agency process. In Ohio, for example, the Administrative Procedure Act is found in Ohio Rev. Code §§ 119.01 to 119.14. An additional abbreviated rulemaking provision, that does not require notice and comment, is at Ohio Rev. Code § 111.15.
Most states have a state publication similar to the Federal Register (but not necessarily published daily) and that can be called a register, bulletin, or journal. Most states also have an administrative code. A good resource to find state registers and state codes is the website of the Administrative Codes and Registers (ACR) Section of the National Association of Secretaries of State. They link to each state’s “register,” code, and manual.
In Ohio, when an agency intends to adopt a rule, the agency gives public notice of its intention to adopt the rule in the online Register of Ohio at least 30 days before its scheduled hearing on the proposed rule. At least 65 days before adopting the rule, the agency files the notice, the proposed rule, and a rule summary and fiscal analysis with the Secretary of State and the Legislative Service Commission. The agency also files the notice, proposed rule, and rule summary and fiscal analysis with the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review for legislative review. The agency holds a public hearing on the proposed rule. Sixty-six days after filing the proposed rule, and if the time for legislative review has expired, the agency may adopt the proposed rule and file it in final form. The final rule is published in the Register of Ohio and the Administrative Code.
Ohio also has a print publication called The Ohio Monthly Record which gives notice to the public of repealed rules and proposed rules and publishes new and amended rules in chronological order on a monthly basis. The Ohio Administrative Code is divided into chapters, alphabetically, by agency.
Regulations “adopted by reference” are not contained in the Ohio Administrative Code. You must locate the text in other documents. An example of this would be the building code, which incorporates the Ohio Building Code by reference. The Ohio Legislative Service Commission and Ohio Secretary of State can provide the text of the regulations adopted by reference.
The beginning of a new school year can be a time of high anxiety. Check out our student wellness resources below!
Resiliency & Wellness for Law Students & Lawyers Guide
UC Law Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
UC Law Academic & Student Affairs Personnel
UC Law Library 1L Success Guide
UC Osher Center for Integrative Health
ABA Resources for Law Students and Law Schools
Law Deans Clearinghouse for Student Mental Health
This week in the Law Library we welcome our LLM students and provide additional summer legal research tips.
Welcome to our LLM students! We’re so happy that you joined us!
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
Be sure and check out our LLM Success Guide!
Building doors are unlocked Monday — Friday 8:00am – 5:00pm except during University of Cincinnati holidays. Law students, faculty, and staff have 24/7 access with their UC Bearcat ID cards.
Circulation and reference are only available during certain hours. Hours vary during holidays. You can check Library hours at 556-0163 or at https://law.uc.edu/education/library.html. If you need circulation assistance, please contact the Circulation Manager, Justin Ellis.
Previously, we looked at initial steps to take when you get a summer research project, researching secondary sources, the structure and organization of statutory codes and where to find them, statutory finding tools, using citators to validate statutes, researching historical codes, statutory surveys, finding cases, validating cases, and began covering legislative history research. This week we continue our coverage of legislative history research.
Sometimes, unfortunately, no one has compiled a legislative history for you and you have to do it yourself. One of the best ways to find legislative history documents not already gathered by someone else is to use the ProQuest Congressional database. This is different from the ProQuest Legislative Insight. You can find the link for this database under the Research Tools & Databases on the Law Library’s webpage. Within ProQuest Congressional, the easiest way is to search by Public Law Number. To get to that search screen click the Congressional Publications link in the top left corner of the page. Then select Search by Number. If you have the public law number or Statutes at Large citation for an enacted law, use those. If you have a bill number for a law that was not enacted, use that.
In addition to the selected compiled legislative histories, Lexis also has individual legislative history documents. Search in the Federal Legislative Bill History, Committee Reports, and Congressional Record.
You can also find individual legislative history documents on Westlaw. Instead of clicking on the US GAO Federal Legislative Histories or the Arnold & Porter Legislative Histories, search the Legislative Histories — Congressional Reports, Congressional Record, U.S. Congressional Testimony, and historical public laws.
You can look up more current legislation on Congress.gov. Clicking on the Actions gives a chronology of everything that happened to the bill in reverse chronological order. There are links to some but not all documents. The more recent your bill or public law, the more likely you are to find links to documents.
Check out our guide on Federal Legislative History for more information and resources!
The resources available for state legislative history vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The General Assembly in Ohio, for example, does not maintain a formal, comprehensive record of legislative activity with respect to a particular piece of legislation as occurs, in the U.S. Congress.
Ohio session laws used to be published in the print Laws of Ohio but in 2006, they discontinued publication. Now the Laws of Ohio are available on the Ohio Secretary of State’s website. You can also find the session laws on the General Assembly’s website. The Laws of Ohio are the official publication of the Ohio legislative enactments. They are the full text of acts, whether codified or uncodified.
Did you know that not all laws are codified? An uncodified law is part of the law of Ohio and is filed in the office of the Secretary of State. However, because it is not a law of a general and permanent nature, it does not appear in the statutes in codified form. Common examples of session laws not codified include: preambles and recitals; provisions that have only local or regional application; provisions that may apply for a limited time; and provisions that may apply to a limited number of circumstances.
Ohio committee material is very scarce. The House & Senate Journals are the best source of procedural actions taken on a bill. They include things like introductions, referrals to committees, committee reports, floor motions, and votes. Unfortunately in Ohio, committee reports are really just simple statements: “The bla bla bla bla committee reports it back and recommends its passage…” House & Senate Journals can be found on the General Assembly’s website. Archived versions going back to 2003 can be found on the General Assembly’s Archives website.
In Ohio, you can use the committee name(s) to request the House of Representative and Senate Committee Files. The Committee Files may contain transcripts of hearings, reports, voting records, copies of bill and reference materials. You can get these through the Ohio History Connection.
Hannah Capitol Connection is a database that we subscribe to where you can access Ohio documents created during the legislative process going back to 1989. It also includes reporters’ notes of Committee activity which you won’t find on the Ohio General Assembly website but those would not be as complete as what you might find through Ohio History Connection.
You can find more information on doing Ohio legislative history research on our Ohio Legal research guide.
Because each state differs on what legislative history resources are available, it is best to consult a state specific guide for the jurisdiction for which you need to do the research. How can you find such a guide? The Maurer School of Law has a guide to help: State Legislative History Research Guides Inventory.
If you are looking for information on Animal Law, check out our handy research guide below.
https://guides.libraries.uc.edu/c.php?g=927127&p=6679957
You will find treatises, articles, study aids, laws and other helpful material. The Animal Law guide is just one of our many reasearch guides. We have over 80 on topics ranging from Advertising Law to state specific guides for Kentucky and Ohio Law. For a full list, see below. If there a topic you would like to see a research guide on, contact Laura Dixon-Caldwell.
UC Law Library Research Guides
This week in the Law Library we welcome Dean Hamoudi, provide additional summer legal research tips, and celebrate Disability Pride Month.
Haider Ala Hamoudi serves as the college’s 27th dean since its founding in 1833. Dean Hamoudi comes to us from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (Pitt Law) where he most recently served as interim dean. He joined Pitt Law in 2007 as assistant professor and was named associate professor in 2012. He additional served as associate dean of research and faculty development from 2013 to 2017, associate dean for academic affairs from 2017 – 2018, and vice dean in 2018. Dean Hamoudi’s research primarily focuses on Middle Eastern and Islamic law. He is also the Editor in Chief of the Arab Law Quarterly. He was brought in to revitalize and restore its scholarly reputation as the most highly regarded and widely distributed law journal addressing matters of Arab law in the English language. He has led the effort to revamp the peer review process, instigate and implement significant structural change to improve the quality of submissions, recompose the Board of Editors entirely, and worked to increase the ALQ’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Previously, we looked at initial steps to take when you get a summer research project, researching secondary sources, the structure and organization of statutory codes and where to find them, statutory finding tools, using citators to validate statutes, researching historical codes, statutory surveys, finding cases, and validating cases.
This week we’re going to take an initial look at legislative history research. If you have a statutory issue but no or very little case law interpreting the statute, you may need to look at legislative history. Legislative history research involves trying to establish legislative intent by looking into the documents produced as a law goes through the legislative process. The types of documents you might look at when doing legislative history research will include bill versions, amendments, committee reports, committee hearings, committee prints, and debates. The Plain Meaning Rule dictates whether or not you would want to do legislative history research. The Plain Meaning Rule states that if the language is plain on its face, you should not introduce evidence of legislative history. Do courts use legislative history? Despite many claims to the contrary, yes! See, for example, Abbe R. Gluck & Richard A. Posner, Statutory Interpretation on the Bench: A Survey of Forty-Two Judges on the Federal Courts of Appeals, 131 Harv. L. Rev. 1298 (2018).
The first step in doing legislative history research is to figure out which public law added the statutory language you need to interpret. Remember that statutes can be amended so if you are trying to determine what the legislature intended when they passed a law, you need to know which law incorporated your language. Your code should have a chronological list of the laws making up a code section and that list should be directly underneath the text of the statute. This is sometimes called the credit field. For Federal statutes, these are your public laws. Annotated codes will also have a history section where they summarize the changes that various laws made to the statute. Once you have determined which public law added your language, you will be ready to take the next step.
Unfortunately, legislative history research is often a lot of work with very little reward. Federal legislative history research is generally easier than state legislative history research. One way to make it easier on yourself is to take advantage of work that someone else has already done — look to see if someone has created a compiled legislative history. The following are excellent sources of compiled legislative histories:
ProQuest legislative histories are comprised of fully searchable PDFs of full-text publications generated in the course of congressional lawmaking. Each history includes the full text of the public law itself, all versions of related bills, law-specific Congressional Record excerpts, committee hearings, reports, and prints. Also included are presidential signing statements, CRS reports, and miscellaneous congressional publications that provide background material.
HeinOnline US Federal Legislative History Library
In addition to the inclusion of comprehensive federal legislative histories published by the U.S. GPO and private publishers, this database also includes a unique finding aid based on Nancy Johnson’s award-winning work, Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories.
GAO Federal Legislative Histories on Westlaw
Comprehensive legislative histories for most U.S. Public Laws enacted from 1921 to 1995, and PL 104-191, as compiled by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, including the text of laws, bills, committee reports, Congressional Record documents, transcripts of hearings, and other documents in pdf format.
Arnold & Porter Legislative Histories on Westlaw
Very selective compilation of legislative histories available on Westlaw.
Disability Pride Flag. A black flag with a lightning bolt of blue, yellow, white, red, and green. Source: Ann Magill/Public Domain
Disability Pride Month is an annual worldwide observance holiday during the month of July. It promotes awareness of disability as an identity, a community, a culture & the positive pride felt by disabled people. It directly challenges systematic ableism and discrimination.
Disability and Political Theory (Barbara Arneil & Nancy J. Hirschmann, eds. 2016) (UC e-Book)
Though disability scholarship has been robust in history, philosophy, English, and sociology for decades, political theory and political science more generally have been slow to catch up. This volume presents political theory approaches to disability issues. Barbara Arneil and Nancy J. Hirschmann bring together some of the leading scholars in political theory to provide a historical analysis of disability through the works of canonical figures, ranging from Hobbes and Locke to Kant, Rawls and Arendt, as well as an analysis of disability in contemporary political theory, examining key concepts, such as freedom, power and justice. Disability and Political Theory introduces a new disciplinary framework to disability studies, and provides a comprehensive introduction to a new topic of political theory.
Everyone is disabled in some respect, at least in the sense that others can do things that we cannot. But significant limitations on pursuing major life activities due to severely limited eyesight, hearing, mobility, cognitive functioning and so on pose special problems that fortunately have been recognized (to some extent) in our public policies. Public policy is important, as are the deliberative frameworks that we use to justify them, and the essays in the second and third sections of this volume have significant implications for public policy and offer new proposals for justifying frameworks. Underlying public policies and their assessment, however, are the attitudes, good and bad, that we bring to them, and our attitudes as well deeply affect our interpersonal relationships. The essays here, especially in the first section, reveal how complex and problematic our attitudes towards persons with disabilities are when we are in relationships with them as care-givers, friends, family members, or briefly encountered strangers. Our attitudes towards ourselves as persons with (or without) disabilities are implicated in these discussions as well. Among the special highlights of this volume are its focus on moral attitudes and relationships involving disabilities and its contributors’ recognition of the multi-faceted nature of disability problems. The importance of respect for persons as a necessary complement to beneficence is an underlying theme, and a deeper understanding of respect is made possible by considering closely its implications for relationships with persons with disabilities. Awareness of the common and uncommon human vulnerabilities also makes clear the need for modifying traditional deliberative frameworks for assessing policies, and several essays make constructive proposals for the changes that are needed.
In light of the third-generation concept of inclusive sustainability, the volume explores the architecture of global disability governance and its degree of harmonisation. The book integrates socio-cultural, economic, political and legal analyses from an international and comparative perspective. The first part of the volume outlines a tripartite systematisation of disability rights for States and non-state persons. In light of essential economic considerations, the second part explores the relationship between disability and specific fundamental rights and regimes, particularly the rights to life, health, education, work and participation. The third part takes an institutional approach and focuses on the way in which the UN and regional organisations regulate disability (rectius, different ability).
James I. Charlton, Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment (UC e-Book)
The author asserts that disability oppression is rooted in degradation, dependency, and powerlessness and is experienced in some form by five hundred million persons throughout the world who have physical, sensory, cognitive, or developmental disabilities. This book provides a theoretical overview of disability oppression that shows its similarities to, and differences from, racism, sexism, and colonialism. Charlton’s analysis is illuminated by interviews he conducted over a ten-year period with disability rights activists throughout the Third World, Europe, and the United States. Charlton finds an antidote for dependency and powerlessness in the resistance to disability oppression that is emerging worldwide. His interviews contain striking stories of self-reliance and empowerment evoking the new consciousness of disability rights activists. As a latecomer among the world’s liberation movements, the disability rights movement will gain visibility and momentum from Charlton’s elucidation of its history and its political philosophy of self-determination, which is captured in the title of his book.
The Routledge Handbook of Disability Activism (Maria Berghs et al., eds. 2020) (UC e-Book)
This handbook emphasizes the importance of everyday disability activism and how activists across the world bring together a wide range of activism tactics and strategies. It also challenges the activist movements, transnational and emancipatory politics, as well as providing future directions for disability activism.
This week in the Law Library we’re wishing everyone good luck on the bar exam, providing additional summer legal research tips, and celebrating Disability Pride Month.
We wish our graduates and the other test takers the best of luck on the bar exam! We know you’ve got this! Believe in yourself!
National Conference of Bar Examiners, Bar Exam Rules
Five Essential Last-Minute Bar Exam Tips, JD Advising
Exam Day Tips, Bar Exam Toolbox
Ashley Heidemann, How to Stay Calm During the Bar Exam, The National Jurist (June 10, 2022)
Previously, we looked at initial steps to take when you get a summer research project, researching secondary sources, the structure and organization of statutory codes and where to find them, statutory finding tools, using citators to validate statutes, researching historical codes, statutory surveys, and finding cases. This week we will begin covering validating cases.
There are two main case law citators to verify the status of your case – on LexisNexis, it is Shepards and on Westlaw it is Keycite. Keyciting and shepardizing are also a method for finding other cases and secondary sources relevant to your topic. There are differences between the citator symbols used by Westlaw and Lexis, but as a general rule, in either Westlaw or Lexis cases with a red flag or red stop sign may no longer be good law and should not be relied upon without doing further research. Similarly, cases with a yellow flag or yellow triangle should be used with caution because they may have been distinguished by other court rulings. Remember, that you need to take into account the jurisdiction of your case and the cases citing your case in order to determine if your case is still good law. Do not rely on the symbols completely. There have been many instances where KeyCite and Shepards will give you different symbols for a case. Read the cases to make your own determination as to the citing case’s impact on your case.
When looking at a Shepard’s or KeyCite report, the most relevant symbol is the one before the case name/citation that you are Shepardizing or KeyCiting. The symbols before the other cases retrieved in the report indicate whether the cases that relied on your decision are still good law but they are not the symbol for your case.
The red Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain strong negative history or treatment of your case (for example, overruled by or reversed).
The red Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain strong negative treatment of the section (for example, the section may have been found to be unconstitutional or void).
The orange Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that the citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain treatment that questions the continuing validity or precedential value of your case because of intervening circumstances, including judicial or legislative overruling
The yellow Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain history or treatment that may have a significant negative impact on your case (for example, limited or criticized by).
The green Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain history or treatment that has a positive impact on your case (for example, affirmed or followed by).
The blue “A” Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain treatment of your case that is neither positive nor negative (for example, explained).
The blue “I” Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references are available in the Shepard’s® Citations Service for your case, but the references do not have history or treatment analysis (for example, the references are law review citations).
Indicates a document is no longer good law for at least one point of law.
Indicates a document has been overruled in part but not completely.
Indicates a document has some negative treatment
Indicates a document has been appealed to the US Courts of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court (excluding appeals originating from agencies).
Indicates a document may no longer be good for at least one point of law based on its reliance on an overruled or otherwise invalid prior decision.
Don’t forget that you can always find out more about researching cases in our Researching Cases Guide or watch our videos on cases.
Disability Pride Flag. A black flag with a lightning bolt of blue, yellow, white, red, and green. Source: Ann Magill/Public Domain
Disability Pride Month is an annual worldwide observance holiday during the month of July. It promotes awareness of disability as an identity, a community, a culture & the positive pride felt by disabled people. It directly challenges systematic ableism and discrimination.
Disability Law and Policy provides an overview of the major themes and insights in disability law. The year 2020 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. During the past three decades, disability law and policy, including the law of the ADA itself, have evolved dramatically in the United States and internationally. Walls of inaccessibility, exclusion, segregation, stigma, and discrimination have been torn down, often brick-by-brick. But the work continues, many times led by advocates who have never known a world without the ADA and are now building on the efforts of those who came before them.
Disability Friendly: How to Move from Clueless to Inclusive (UC e-book)
Although progress has been made around equality for many marginalized groups, people with disabilities are still massively underrepresented in organizations’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. People with disabilities make up at least 15% of the world’s population yet are still too often overlooked. This book explains the potential of disabled employees, how to create a culture of inclusion, and, in the process, help people with disabilities become proud contributors.
Eugenics, Genetics, and Disability in Historical and Contemporary Perspective (UC e-book)
Over the course of the past few decades there have been two important developments within American society that have had profound impact on both the disability and social work communities. First, genetic research, as well as policy and practice innovations based on this research, has expanded greatly over the past few decades. This is indicated, for example, by the mapping of the human genome in 2003, an expansion of prenatal genetic testing and counseling options, efforts to tailor drug regimens based on one’s genetic make-up, popular genetic ancestry and medical testing services, and potential in-roads to genetic engineering, along with a host of other bio-genetic research innovations. The second important development has been the growth of the disability rights movement, which in many ways parallels the civil rights campaigns of other “minority” groups. Importantly, the coexistence of these two developments poses intriguing challenges for social work that the profession has yet to address in a meaningful way. Moreover, coming to term with these issues is especially important for social work professionals in our crucial role as advocates for marginalized or de-valued populations.
Federal Disability Law in a Nutshell
This Nutshell presents an overview of the major federal disability laws with emphasis on the statutes, regulations, and significant points of substantive and procedural law. The sixth edition includes significant focus on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including its 2008 Amendment and accompanying regulations. Features coverage on constitutional rights; the definition of “disabled”; Rehabilitation Act of 1973; employment discrimination; programs and services; and housing, education, and transportation. Also reviews the many relevant areas of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), including the 2004 Amendments and two recent Supreme Court cases under the IDEA.
The Palgrave Handbook of Disability and Communication (UC e-book)
The Palgrave Handbook of Disability and Communication covers a broad spectrum of topics related to how we perceive and understand disability and the language, constructs, constraints and communication behavior that shape disability discourse within society. The essays and original research presented in this volume address important matters of disability identity and intersectionality, broader cultural narratives and representation, institutional constructs and constraints, and points related to disability justice, advocacy, and public policy. In doing so, this book brings together a diverse group of over 40 international scholars to address timely problems and to promote disability justice by interrogating the way people communicate not only to people with disabilities, but also how we communicate about disability, and how people express themselves through their disabled identity.