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Blind People Sue D.C.
Over Traffic Signals
A group of blind people are suing the District of Columbia over what they describe as a lack of adequate pedestrian signals to let them know when it is safe to cross streets.
Their lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court alleges a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“While the District has installed visual pedestrian signals at more than 1,600 intersections to ensure the safety of its sighted pedestrians, only a fraction of those intersections have devices with auditory, tactile, and vibrotactile cues—Accessible Pedestrian Signals (“APS”)—to make them accessible to blind pedestrians,” the lawsuit says. “Equally problematic, the modest number of signals equipped with APS are plagued by installation and maintenance issues.”
Accessible Pedestrian Signals refer to signals that use nonvisual cues, such as a soft tone and a raised metallic arrow to indicate the button blind people can push to stop traffic at an intersection. They are notified when it is safe to cross by verbal commands that either say “wait”or by rapid beeps indicating it is safe to walk across the intersection.
Some of the signalized intersections are located near traffic circles or angled intersections, creating even more confusion for blind and low-vision pedestrians, the plaintiffs say.
In addition, “the District programs its pedestrian signals to give all pedestrians less time to cross the street than required by national standards, exacerbating the dangers of crossing intersections for blind pedestrians who need more time to cross streets safely,” the lawsuit says.
A lack of street accessibility devices means blind pedestrians often “wait alone at intersections for several cycles until other pedestrians arrive, start crossing the street only to be pulled back or shouted at by others, or avoid pedestrian travel altogether by paying for transportation or staying home,” the lawsuit says.
The plaintiffs call the extra time they need to travel as pedestrians or money they must pay others for transportation a “blindness tax.”
The five lead plaintiffs are seeking class certification for the approximately 14,000 blind or severely visually impaired people in Washington.
Supreme Court Says Secular Nonprofits
Can Receive Religious Tax Exemptions
The Supreme Court ruled last week that a religious charitable foundation can opt out of paying taxes for unemployment compensation in a decision that threatens to revamp part of the federal-state insurance program.
Unemployment compensation provides financial benefits to workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.
A key issue in the Supreme Court ruling was a Wisconsin law that requires employers to pay payroll taxes that cover the cost of the insurance. Religious organizations are exempt.
The Supreme Court said forcing Catholic Charities Bureau Inc. to pay the taxes violates the separation of church and state required under the Constitution. The nonprofit organization provides assistance to disabled persons and persons needing mental health care.
The unanimous decision focused on a lawsuit filed by Catholic Charities in northern Wisconsin but it applies equally to religious institutions in all other states.
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Latest News
Supreme Court Lets Bans Stand
Against Semi-Automatic Weapons
The Supreme Court last week upheld a ban on assault weapons but avoided a detailed explanation of the constitutional issues involved.
The dispute arose from a Maryland law that bans weapons like the AR-15, whose high-muzzle bullet speed and easy accessibility at gun shops have made it a common gun used in mass shootings.
The ban was challenged by gun rights advocates. They said it violates their Second Amendment right to bear arms.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ban. The Richmond, Va.-based court said AR-15s are most similar to the military M-16 machine guns, which the Supreme Court has ruled are not protected by the Second Amendment.
The Supreme Court decided to let the lower court ruling stand. It declined to hear an appeal that challenged both the Maryland assault rifle ban and a Rhode Island ban on high-capacity gun magazines.
Power the Civil Rights Work of Our Time
Each day members of our community are experiencing wage theft, the effects of gentrification, discriminatory policing, collateral consequences, marginalization in schools, and barriers to public accommodations.
We fight alongside people facing the effects of gentrification like Amira Moore. Our work empowers the people and communities who need it most, “We can do more than we think. There’s a path to equity, we just have to step to it.” –Ms. Moore
For more than 50 years, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee has been on the frontlines of the fight for civil rights in our community. We deploy the best legal talent, we tackle the tough cases, we fight, and we win.
Our work is as important today as it has ever been. Through your support, you can play a role in creating justice for thousands of marginalized members of our community. Together, we will dismantle injustice and pursue lasting change.
Join us! Donate & subscribe: https://www.washlaw.org/support-us
Volunteer with us: https://www.washlaw.org/get-involved/
For more information, contact Gregg Kelley at Gregg_Kelley@washlaw.org
About Us
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Letters to the Editor
D.C. in Brief
Employment Lawyer Diane Seltzer
Wins as D.C. Bar President-Elect
Employment lawyer Diane A. Seltzer was announced this week as the new president-elect of the D.C. Bar.
She beat out Dan Bondi, brother of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, by a nearly 10-to-1 margin amid a record turnout among D.C. Bar voters.
Seltzer said in a statement that the election shows “we have a Bar full of lawyers who care about making sure their leadership reflects their values, which are maintaining the rule of law, being able to practice law without fear of retaliation, and having a leader who is experienced and has the qualifications to be in that position.”
Her reference to “retaliation” appears to be a reference to Dan Bondi, who created concerns that he might mimic a style similar to his sister. She has largely remained silent on President Donald Trump’s revenge against law firms that criticized him.
In addition, the D.C. Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel has accused Trump allies like former Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark and one-time Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani with ethics violations for their efforts to overturn former President Joe Biden‘s election win in 2020.
Seltzer is taking over a three-year tenure that replaces Shaun Snyder, the current D.C. Bar president and chief executive of the National Association of State Treasurers. She will be tasked with presiding over board meetings and attending committee meetings.
Seltzer has volunteered for the D.C. Bar for more than two decades and spent the past five years on its board of governors.
Seltzer is an American University Washington College of Law graduate who started her own firm, called the Seltzer Law Firm, in 1997. She also was an adjunct law professor at American University from 2003 to 2023.
June 14 Military Parade in D.C.
Leads to Concerns about Damage
Cost estimates are rising along with liability concerns over President Donald Trump’s planned military parade June 14 through the streets of Washington, D.C.
The latest Defense Department estimate shows it would cost as much as $45 million.
A separate Defense Department estimate says damage to the streets from rolling tanks and other heavy equipment over them could add $16 million.
In addition to 6,700 soldiers in the parade, there will be 28 M1 Abrams tanks. Each of them weighs 70 tons.
There also will be 28 Stryker armored personnel carriers and more than 100 other military vehicles.
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Legal Briefs
We Could Use Your Help
Thousands of DC residents need a lawyer, but can’t afford one. They could be illegally evicted from their homes, lose custody of their children, experience domestic violence, and more, all because they lack legal representation.
You could make a difference. By making a donation to the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, you will provide free, high-quality, zealous legal representation to low-income DC residents.
Your support could prevent homelessness, domestic violence, hunger, or family separation. In fact, if just 10 people who see this ad give $28 to Legal Aid, it will be enough to staff an experienced attorney at the courthouse for a day.
That way, DC residents like Keith King (pictured above) can get the legal representation they need to win their cases. As Mr. King put it, if it wasn’t for his Legal Aid lawyer, “I would have been homeless again.”
Here is the link to the Legal Aid website for donations: https://www.legalaiddc.org/donate-to-legal-aid/
For more information, contact Rob Pergament at Legal Aid at rpergament@legalaiddc.org