On Dec. 28, 2020, the 9th Cir. court decided Ashe v. Saul. Plaintiff and her counsel contended neither ever received notice of the Appeals Council denial, resulting in an untimely appeal. Defendant argued that it was presumed that Plaintiff received the notice 5 days after it was mailed. The Court held that Plaintiff met her burden to rebut the presumption she’d received the notice; Plaintiff and her counsel, as well as counsel’s assistant, signed affidavits declaring they never received notice, and the only proof of the notice Defendant pointed to was the copy of the notice in the record which did not have any proof the notice was actually mailed. The Court held that based on the facts, the burden had shifted to SSA to prove actual receipt of the notice. As the lower court had not performed the burden shifting analysis, the case was remanded.  Read more here: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2020/12/28/20-15531.pdf

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/woman-caught-in-social-security-bureaucracy-wins-court-ruling/ar-BB1ciLHL?ocid=uxbndlbing

A recent OPB piece looked at the disparate treatment of individuals with disabilities in their medical treatment for COVID and other conditions.  The article highlights a Pendleton patient with an intellectual disability who was encouraged to sign do-not-resuscitate (DNR) and do-not-intubate forms, and her group home who was encouraged to have all residents DNRs. It also highlights the situation of several other patients who were recently denied care due to their disabilities when they were being treated for other conditions such as pneumonia. Read more here: https://www.opb.org/article/2020/12/22/oregon-hospitals-didn-t-have-shortages-so-why-were-disabled-people-denied-care/?fbclid=IwAR1jlX_CBrT_76QObPSqwOcA5K6Dz44ongx2WUqCwcQil3byGtaWihzk5D8

The Disability Law Section Executive Committee wishes you all a happy holiday season! As the year wraps up, we wanted to share some opportunities to give back to the community.

MONETARY DONATIONS

Throughout 2020, we have received a few requests for donations from organizations whose missions we support but their missions are not directly in line with our section’s mission. Our section annually donates to the Campaign for Equal Justice, and we have donated in the past to help fund events/causes directly related to disability law and/or serving the disability community. For causes whose missions are not directly in line with ours, we have not donated but wanted to pass on their requests in case you are interested in personally donating to their cause:

Classroom Law Project: Their impact, reported on their site: “Classroom Law Project empowers teachers and students around Oregon with quality civic education programs. Last year we reached over 1,200 teachers and 97,000 students.” classroomlaw.org/donate/

Oregon Minority Lawyer’s Association (OMLA): Their impact, from their site: “OMLA sponsors numerous activities and programs” such as “Networking and Social events,” awarding “Bar Exam Preparation Scholarships,” preparing “Amicus Curiae briefs filed on issues such as Interpreters in the Courtroom and same sex marriages” and more. You can mail a donation to OMLA at Attn: Adam Gamboa,1235 SE Morrison St., Suite 150, Portland, OR 97214.

Lawyers for Literacy (a campaign fundraising for Start Making A Reader Today (SMART)): SMART “brings volunteers into classrooms to read one-on-one with PreK through 3rd grade students,” and they will “give away 140,000 books to kids across Oregon and link those to a digital library of read-aloud videos so kids can practice along.” https://smartreading.org/get-involved/donate/

Other Causes:

STATEWIDE/MULTIPLE CITIES

Volunteer with or donate to Every Child, an organization that benefits foster children in most counties in the state: https://everychildoregon.org/volunteer/

Volunteer with or donate to Special Olympics Of Oregon: soor.org/make-an-impact/volunteer/

Volunteer with or donate to Easterseals: easterseals.com/oregon/get-involved/volunteer/

PORTLAND

Oregon Food Bank: you can donate to Oregon Lawyers Against Hunger: https://give.oregonfoodbank.org/campaign/olah-2020/c304936 or volunteer: https://www.oregonfoodbank.org/get-involved/volunteer-2/

Find a local cause in Portland to volunteer with: handsonportland.org/calendar

Help houseless youth by donating goods, or providing food or baked goods, or more: https://www.pearmentor.org/covid/

Donate clothing, care kits, prepare meals, and more to help houseless Portlanders: https://blanchethouse.org/volunteer/

EUGENE

Volunteer or donate to help reduce hunger in Lane County: foodforlanecounty.org/volunteer/

MARION/POLK COUNTY

Volunteer or donate to reduce hunger in Marion and Polk County: https://marionpolkfoodshare.org/volunteer/

BEND

Volunteer or donate to reduce hunger in Bend: https://hdffa.org/get-involved/

The final rule still defines psychiatric service animals as service animals, but emotional support animals are no longer considered service animals. The rule allows airlines to limit individuals to 2 service animals, to limit them to animals that fit in the footspace on the plane, to require paperwork be completed regarding the animal’s health and behavior and includes other rules:

https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-announces-final-rule-traveling-air-service-animals

The new rule are effective April 2, 2021. When the final rules become effective, SSA will apply them to new applications filed on or after the effective date of the rules, and to claims that are pending on or after the effective date.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/03/2020-25250/revised-medical-criteria-for-evaluating-musculoskeletal-disorders

The application deadline to apply for the Assistant Attorney General position in Health and Human Services has been extended to Dec. 8, 2020. The Health and Human Services Section advises the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), including the Public Health Division and Oregon State Hospital, the Oregon Department of Human Services, including Aging and People with Disabilities Division, Office of Developmental Disabilities Services Division, Self Sufficiency and Vocational Rehabilitation Divisions. The section also represents the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Division of Financial Regulation (DFR), the Home Care Commission, the Psychiatric Security Review Board and the Department of Education Early Learning Division’s Office of Child Care. Learn more about the position and apply here: Health and Human Services Position

PPS is hiring an Assistant General Counsel, with expertise in labor and employment. Read more about the position here: Assistant General Counsel.  Apply at careers.pps.net and use job number # 21722. The deadline to apply is Dec. 11, 2020.

CareOregon, the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, and the Alano Club of Portland are hosting Addiction, Recovery and the Justice System, a free four-part educational series.

Session 1: Understanding Addiction | November 20, 2020. 12-1:30 p.m. PST
Join Judges Ann Lininger and Eric Bloch, District Attorney Paige Clarkson and defense attorney Shannon Wilson as they kick off this series with perspectives from the bench, prosecution and defense. Following, Dr. Steve Delisi from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation will examine the neurobiology and neuroscience of addiction and trauma.  |  Register Here

Session 2: Understanding Treatment | December 4, 2020. 12-1:30 p.m. PST
Mae Lee Browning, Legislative Director of the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, begins this session with a personal message of recovery. Following, Heidi Wallace from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation will explore stages of change and how to recognize a person’s readiness to begin the recovery process.  |  Register Here

Session 3: Understanding Recovery | December 11, 2020. 12-1:30 p.m. PST
Jeremiah Rigsby from CareOregon opens this session, followed by Legislators Tawna Sanchez and Janeen Sollman who will discuss the work ahead in the 2021 legislative session. Karen Kern, Mercedes Elizalde, and Freda Ceaser from Central City Concern will discuss the continuum of care in Oregon for substance use disorders, the role of the justice system in a recovery-oriented system of care, and tools for incorporating equity and anti-racist values into actualizing justice and services delivery.   |  Register Here

Session 4: Understanding Hope | December 18, 2020. 12-1:30 p.m. PST
During this final session in the series, Brent Canode from the Alano Club of Portland and  Monta Knudson from Bridges to Change will moderate a panel discussion with people who have lived experience with addiction and whose recovery journeys have intersected with the Oregon Justice System. Panel members include: Mae Lee Browning, Legislative Director of the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association; Janie Marsh Gullickson, Executive Director of the Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon; Hugo Gonzalez Venegas, Attorney and Oregon State Bar Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator; and Billy Anfield, Advocacy Coordinator at Central City Concern’s Flip the Script. They will share their experiences in recovery and perspectives on how our justice system can support recovery for justice-involved people with addiction.  |  Register Here

Visit hazelden.org/justiceseries for more information and all links in one place.

We’re excited to announce our 2021 Executive Committee:

Officers

Chair: Tiffany Blackmon

Chair-Elect: Jan Atwill

Secretary: Terisa Page Gault

Treasurer: Jan Atwill

Members-at-Large

Bill Spiry

Rebecca Babarsky

Gordon Magella

American Airlines has instated new weight limits on wheelchairs on many of its flights. Some planes allow 300 lbs wheelchairs, while others allow 400 lbs wheelchairs. John Morris, who uses a 450 lbs power wheelchair, has been unable to fly some of his normal routes due to the new rule.

Read more on this topic:

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/02/929489746/a-new-rule-means-some-people-with-wheelchairs-cant-fly-on-american-airlines?fbclid=IwAR1vkSDBclJ0WWbYwVZY-rAyzqTwxEuobVm3NHmd2i1WqVEoUAv6GShdvVY

https://wheelchairtravel.org/american-airlines-policy-prohibits-power-wheelchairs-regional-jets/

UPDATE: Policy has already been reversed.  https://www.npr.org/2020/11/23/938063066/american-airlines-reverses-policy-that-imposed-weight-limit-on-wheelchairs?fbclid=IwAR3QHVZK2MukNX1GBwf_28ah2lOKH_s7GQSEtnN7q8AAlNm1U5JSgvq7nPc

Don’t forget to register for the  two-day webcast CLE, Getting Oriented in the Civil Rights Statutes That Protect People with Disabilities: Where We Are, How We Got Here, and What’s New on the Horizon. The CLE will be held October 13th 11:00AM-1:05PM and October 14th 11:00AM-2:10PM.

Find more information here: Disability Law CLE

Register here: Register