Olmstead v. L.C.
| Olmstead v. L.C. | |
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| Argued April 21, 1999 Decided June 22, 1999 |
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| Full case name | Tommy Olmstead, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Human Resources, et al., Petitioners v. L. C., by Jonathan Zimring, guardian ad litem and next friend, et al. |
| Citations | 527 U.S. 581 (more)
119 S. Ct. 2176; 144 L. Ed. 2d 540; 1999 U.S. LEXIS 4368; 67 U.S.L.W. 4567; 9 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 705; 99 Cal. Daily Op. Service 4859; 99 Daily Journal DAR 6263; 1999 Colo. J. C.A.R. 3627; 12 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 424
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| Argument | Oral argument |
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| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Ginsburg, joined by Stevens, O'Connor, Souter, Breyer (parts I, II, III-A); O'Connor, Souter, Breyer (part III-B) |
| Concurrence | Stevens |
| Concurrence | Kennedy, joined by Breyer (part I) |
| Dissent | Thomas, joined by Rehnquist, Scalia |
Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), is a United States Supreme Court case regarding discrimination against people with mental disabilities. The Supreme Court held that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals with mental disabilities have the right to live in the community rather than in institutions if, in the words of the opinion of the Court, "the State's treatment professionals have determined that community placement is appropriate, the transfer from institutional care to a less restrictive setting is not opposed by the affected individual, and the placement can be reasonably accommodated, taking into account the resources available to the State and the needs of others with mental disabilities." The case was brought by the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc.
Tommy Olmstead, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Human Resources, et al. v. L. C., by Zimring, guardian ad litem and next friend, et al. (Olmstead v. L.C.) was a case filed in 1995 and decided in 1999 before the United States Supreme Court. The plaintiffs, L.C. (Lois Curtis) and E.W. (Elaine Wilson, deceased December 4, 2005), were two women who had diagnoses of mental retardation and schizophrenia, and mental retardation and personality disorder, respectively. They had both been treated in institutional settings and in community based treatments in the state of Georgia.
Following clinical assessments by state employees, both plaintiffs were determined to be better suited by treatment in a community based setting rather than in the institution. Both sued the state of Georgia to prevent them from being inappropriately treated and housed in the institutional setting.
The case rose to the level of the Supreme Court which decided the case in 1999. A major aspect of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in determining that mental illness is a form of disability and therefore covered under the ADA. Title II of the ADA applies to 'public entities' and include 'state and local governments' and 'any department, agency or special purpose district' and protects any 'qualified person with a disability' from exclusion from participation in or denied the benefits of services, programs, or activities of a public entity.
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