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| DRLC Newsletter |
Friday, January 14, 2011 |
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DRLC Responds to Beverly Hills City Council Members' Disparaging Remarks About People with Disabilities
 This week DRLC sought leave to file an amicus brief related to disability discrimination in a Beverly Hills land use lawsuit. The case, 8767 Wilshire Boulevard, L.P., v. City of Beverly Hills, involves a dispute between the city and a real estate developer seeking a permit to build medical offices. In denying the plaintiff's application, members of the Beverly Hills City Council made a number of disparaging statements about people with disabilities, including "people come to Beverly Hills to see glamour, not to see a sick person," and referring to the Wilshire area as a "medical ghetto." They also claimed that street parking would increase because people with disabilities prefer to park on the street using their placards rather than in designated spaces within parking garages. DRLC's amicus brief covered the legal issues involving discriminatory attitudes toward people with disabilities and city land use decisions. Although the court denied the petition without prejudice, she ordered that DRLC be kept apprised of events in the case. |
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Protecting Civil Liberties of Deaf, Hard of Hearing Community
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A Video Relay Service session helping a person who is deaf communicates via a Video Interpreter (sign language interpreter) and a videophone (By SignVideo, London, U.K.) |
The court has given preliminary approval to DRLC's class action settlement with the Monrovia Police Department. The settlement requires the department to take steps to ensure effective communication between the police and people who are deaf or hard of hearing. These steps include requesting a sign language interpreter in a reasonable amount of time (usually within 15 minutes) after an individual asks for one, and installing Video Relay Service and Video Relay Interpreting at the station. To view the class notice of settlement, click here |
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CLRC Online Article Informs Women at High Risk of Cancer
About the Legal Implications of Genetic Testing
 The Cancer Legal Resource Center (CLRC), in an ongoing partnership with Bright Pink, has published information about genetics and the law on the Bright Pink website. Bright Pink is a national, nonprofit organization that provides education and support to young women who are at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. These resources will help these young women understand the legal implications of genetic testing on their lives and work, and also how the changes to health care options and insurance practices included in recent health care reform efforts can help them. |
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New Attorneys Join the CLRC's Professional Panel
The Cancer Legal Resource Center (CLRC) would like to thank Kathryn S. Piscitelli from Lakeland, Florida; Geoffrey Lyon from Long Beach, California; and Karen R. Washington from Dallas, Texas for joining the CLRC's Professional Panel. Attorneys on the Professional Panel volunteer their time to speak with callers on the CLRC's national Telephone Assistance Line to help them resolve cancer-related legal issues. |
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Free Handbook and Webinar Prepare Law Students to Volunteer and Work at Public Interest Firms
 The DRLC Pro Bono Director, Lani Woltmann, helped write Introduction to Professionalism: A Guide for Law Students Handbook and provided part of the narration on the webinar that discusses the handbook. "The guide provides law students with useful insights from the perspective of public interest legal service recruiters on the process of applying for positions, working effectively in those positions and cultivating important mentor and reference relationships," Woltmann writes in the guide's introduction. We encourage law students considering interning, externing, or applying for a position at a public interest agency to review these materials. The DRLC welcomes law students to apply for our externships. The handbook and webinar are free. They are available at the SoCal Pro Bono Center website library: |
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Join Us For Our Open House
On Thursday, January 27
Meet the DRLC staff and Board of Directors, take a tour of our office, have a glass of wine, and learn about the cutting-edge legal work of the center as well as trends in disability rights law. The Open House is Thursday, January 27 from 5:30-6:45 pm at Loyola Law School, Founders Hall, 2nd Floor, 919 Albany Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015. To RSVP and/or request an accomodation: Anabel.Prudencio@lls.edu or 213-736-8195; Video Relay 866-912-8193. Parking in the Loyola Law School lot is $6. There is ample parking on the streets surrounding the law school. Read signs carefully. Click here for Driving Directions.
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Donate
The online credit card donation feature is available on the Make a Donation page of the DRLC website. This quick and easy function can be used for general donations. .
Volunteer
Visit the How You Can Help page of our website to volunteer as a pro bono attorney on a disability rights case, work as a student law clerk or assist with intake and administrative responsibilities. |
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