Former Inmate Sues NH Prison System
CONCORD, NH -- A lawsuit by a former inmate with Lou Gehrig's disease against the New Hampshire State Prison is one of six disability cases sent back to lower courts this week by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The cases involve efforts to hold states accountable for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The New Hampshire suit was filed by Matthew Kiman, who claims the state violated disability laws and his Eighth Amendment right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment. He claimed the prison failed to provide him reasonable accommodations. His disease makes it difficult for him to walk, stand for extended periods or climb stairs.
His suit said prison officials refused to allow him to use a chair while showering and a cane or walker. He said he also was assigned a third-floor cell.
"He has hung on longer than anyone expected him to live," said his lawyer, Nancy Tierney of Lebanon. "Basically, the only thing that has kept him going is this appeal."
Andrew Livernois of the state attorney general's office disputed many of Kiman's claims.
"It is not as though every inconvenience to a person who is disabled rises to a violation of the constitution or a violation of the ADA," he said.
The 5-4 Supreme Court ruling marked a limited but important endorsement of the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, a law meant to ensure equal treatment for the disabled in many areas of life.
The majority ruled the ADA properly gives private citizens the power to sue for damages if a state fails to live up to that promise. It confined its reasoning to the relatively narrow sphere of access to courthouses and court services, although the rationale could be expanded to other areas later on.
The ruling was a victory for George Lane, who crawled up two flights of steps at a courthouse in Benton, Tenn., to face charges in a 1996 traffic case. He was arrested for failing to appear in court when he refused to either crawl or be carried for a second court appearance.
