Disability Scoop article

The law has traditionally responded to cognitive disability by authorizing surrogate decision-makers to make decisions on behalf of disabled individuals. However, supported decision-making, an alternative paradigm for addressing cognitive disability, is rapidly gaining political support. According to its proponents, supported decision-making empowers individuals with cognitive challenges by ensuring that they are the ultimate decision-maker but are provided support from one or more others, giving them the assistance they need to make decisions for themselves.

Download PDF Supported Decision-Making: A Viable Alternative to Guardianship

Tara Anne Pleat, an SDMNY Advisory Council member, explains some of the issues and controversies surrounding guardianship law and practice with regard to persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) in New York State under Article 17-A of the Surrogate’s Court Procedures Act.

Reprinted with permission from: Health Law Journal, Fall 2018, Vol. 23, No. 2, published by the New York State Bar Association, One Elk Street, Albany, NY 12207.

Download PDF Overview of Guardianship for Individuals with ID (2018)

The article, describes Disability Rights New York’s representation of clients with I/DD in rights restoration proceedings, following the stories of three people, Michael, Junior, and Kelly, who sought the termination of their Article 17A guardianships.

Reprinted with permission from: Health Law Journal, Fall 2018, Vol. 23, No. 2, published by the New York State Bar Association, One Elk Street, Albany, NY 12207.

Download PDF Restoring Rights in 17A Guardianships (2018)

In this article, SDMNY Advisory Council member Leslie Salzman, argues that “guardianship violates the integration mandate of the ADA and implicates substantive due process in ways that require changes in state guardianship regimes” because guardianship isolates the individual and limits “the individual’s interactions with public and private actors in the community.”

Download PDF Using Domestic Law to Move Toward a Recognition of Universal Legal Capacity for Persons with Disabilities (2017)

This article describes a federal law suit brought by Disability Rights New York (“DRNY”), arguing that Article 17-A of the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act violated the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The case was ultimately dismissed based on the “abstention doctrine” and the federal courts did not reach the merits.

Download PDF The Myth of Liberty and Justice for All: Guardianship in New York State