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The Americans with Disabilities Act and Prisoners
The language of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is succinct: “[N]o qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to …
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More from this issue:
- Prison Rape Elimination Act Standards Finally in Effect, but Will They be Effective?, by Alex Friedmann
- Prisoners Raped and Sexually Abused While PREA Standards Pending
- U.S. Supreme Court Denies Stay of California Prisoner Release Order
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Employee Disciplinary Problems Persist at Houston Jails, by Matthew Clarke
- How Privatization Destroyed an Illinois Jail's Award-winning Suicide Prevention Program, by Brian Dolinar
- Missouri: Arrestees Billed for Cost of Police Tasers, by Christopher Zoukis
- High-Tech, High-Risk Forensics, by Osagie K. Obasogie
- The Americans with Disabilities Act and Prisoners, by Thomas Weiss
- Michigan County Sanctioned for Defrauding Federal Court in Prisoner Death Case, by David Reutter
- Solitary Confinement for Death Row Prisoners a Blot on U.S. Justice System, by Derek Gilna
- Oklahoma’s DNA Law Means Post-Conviction Testing Available in All 50 States, by Christopher Zoukis
- Habeas Hints: Actual Innocence, by Kent A. Russell
- Second Circuit Establishes Property Seizure Standards for Civilly Committed Persons
- 500 Escape from Abu Ghraib and Taji Prisons in Iraq, by Christopher Zoukis
- Illinois DOC’s Failure to Accommodate Disabled Prisoners States Rehabilitation Act Claim
- PLN Resolves Censorship Suit Against Oregon County Jail for $51,000 Plus Fees and Costs, by Alex Friedmann
- Seventh Circuit: Indiana Tolling Provision May Excuse Time-Barred Suit; Rule 12(b)(6) Dismissal Improper
- After Ten Years, FCC Votes for Prison Phone Reforms!, by David Ganim
- First Circuit: Rejection of Settlement Offer Does Not Justify Defendants’ Attorney Fee Award
- Pennsylvania: Parole Board May Expound on Court-ordered Probation Conditions
- Washington Community Custody, Sex Offender Registration and Release Conditions Modified
- Seventh Circuit Retires “De Minimis” Standard for Use of Physical Force
- New Mexico Prison Doctor Fingered in Lawsuits
- Minnesota: Remedies for Civil Commitments are Limited
- Qualified Immunity for NY Prison Officials who Failed to Award Parole Jail Time
- Wrongful Immigration Detention Suit Reinstated by Second Circuit, Dismissed on Remand, by Derek Gilna
- California Supreme Court: Cutting Through Fences May Not Constitute Attempt to Escape
- Ninth Circuit Requires Notice to Pro Se Prisoner Litigants for Motions to Dismiss for Failure to Exhaust
- Seventh Circuit Upholds CCA’s Victory in Indiana Jail Conditions Suit
- California: Victim’s Post-Death Economic Losses Not Subject to Mandatory Restitution
- Second Circuit: No Social Security Payments for Prisoners
- News in Brief
More from Thomas Weiss:
- The Americans with Disabilities Act and Prisoners, Sept. 15, 2013
More from these topics:
- Monitor Says Massachusetts Prisons Will Not Meet Settlement Deadline for Mental Health Reforms, May 1, 2026. Private Prisons, DOC/BOP misconduct, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women’s Prisons, April 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Totality of Conditions, Parole, Life without Parole (LWOP), Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Tulsa Jail Withholds Records Related to Detainee Deaths, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Wrongful Death, Suicides, Access to Media, Public Records Act.
- Analysts Recommend Closing California’s Soledad Prison, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Cost of Prison Systems.
- More Measles Cases Detected at Jails in New Mexico and Texas, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Contagious Disease -- Misc., Overcrowding, Jail Specific, Immigration Detention.
- ICE Taps New Contractor to Run Deadly Detention Center in Texas, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Contractor Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Totality of Conditions, Immigration Detention.
- Constitutional Challenge to Louisiana Prison “Farm Line” Granted Class Certification, March 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Exposure to Heat, Injunctions (PLRA), Class Certification, Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Delaware Settles Suit Over Depriving Young Prisoners of Special Education, Feb. 1, 2026. Disabled Prisoners, Education, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, Feb. 1, 2026. Transportation, Excessive Force, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Deliberate Indifference.
- Arkansas Prison Reaches ADA Settlement, Dec. 1, 2025. Disabled Prisoners, Systemic Medical Neglect, Water, Settlements, Americans with Disabilities Act.

