The Law Offices of Sam Bernstein
Encyclopedia
The Law Offices of Sam Bernstein, officially The Law Offices of Samuel I. Bernstein, is an American law firm, located in Farmington Hills, Michigan
. The firm specializes in personal injury law. As of 2008, its main office employed approximately 50 employees.
.
area.
The first generation of Bernstein lawyers included Mandell Bernstein and Estelle Koblin-Nelson, both practicing law in Detroit. The patriarch of the Bernstein family of lawyers, Mandell Bernstein, was born in 1899. Mandell graduated from law school in 1922 and practiced law in Detroit. The matriarch of the Bernstein family of lawyers, Estelle Koblin-Nelson, was one of the first female attorneys in Michigan in 1936 when she was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan.
Sam Bernstein represents the second generation of the Bernstein family of lawyers. After graduating from Wayne State University Law School
in 1968, Sam continued the tradition established by his father, Mandell, and mother-in-law, Estelle.
The third generation of Bernstein lawyers includes Mark Bernstein, Richard H. Bernstein
and Beth Bernstein. All three siblings currently practice law together at The Law Offices of Samuel I. Bernstein.
. The plaintiffs stated that they were forced to wait in inclement weather for long periods as a result of this violation. Amidst a very public battle in the local media where then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
"publicly disparaged Bernstein on radio," The U.S. Department of Justice later intervened in the case, forcing the city and Kilpatrick to settle the Federal lawsuit. The agreement, ordered by the US Department of Justice on November 4, 2005, required the city to test the wheelchair lifts of its buses daily, improve the training of its drivers and mechanics and subject its buses to surprise evaluations regularly to ensure disabled patrons have access to public transportation. The City of Detroit Department of Transportation is under the supervision of the United States Department of Justice
.
against University of Michigan
– Michigan Stadium claiming that Michigan Stadium
violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in its $226-million renovation by failing to add enough seats for disabled fans or accommodate the needs for disabled restrooms, concessions and parking. The U.S. Department of Justice assisted in the suit, which was settled in March 2008. The consent decree, signed by U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox
required the stadium to add 329 wheelchair seats throughout the stadium by 2010, and an additional 135 accessible seats in clubhouses to go along with the existing 88 wheelchair seats. The school also will enhance the wheelchair
accessibility of parking, access routes, restrooms, concessions and other amenities, and for disabled journalists, even the player locker rooms and coaches' offices. After the expansion was completed, the stadium accommodates 109,901, allowing the stadium to retain its designation as the largest in the USA.
residents in federal court. The suit claimed that the plan by the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) to install roundabout
s at three different West Bloomfield, Michigan
intersections didn't comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
and prevented disabled pedestrians from being able to move freely throughout the area. The suit claimed that roundabouts are unsafe for blind and disabled pedestrians. The case came to a national precedent-setting agreement between the RCOC and Bernstein in March 2008 for the installation of roundabout safety equipment at each location at each entry point of the roundabout. If the safety equipment fails, the community may face a federal mandate to tear out the roundabout. A 43-page outline, issued by U.S. District Judge Victoria A. Roberts
on March 27, 2009, detailed the timeline for research and installation of automated pedestrian safety equipment. The RCOC finished installing a High Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) system August 19, 2009, which cost $600,000. At a second roundabout in the suit, a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) was installed October 8, 2010. The cost to set up the system was $70,000. The RCOC said the flashing beacons will stay up for at least one year, while studies are conducted by Western Michigan University
and North Carolina State University
to determine whether the two systems impact pedestrian safety, particularly for disabled people. If the results are successful, the systems could be installed at other roundabouts.
In February 2009, in Green Bay, Wisconsin
, the Green Bay City Council decided, against public opposition, to install six roundabouts on Military Avenue. Attorney Richard Bernstein spoke at the Council's February 16, 2009 meeting in opposition of the roundabout installations. In an interview with Green Bay television station WBAY-TV
, Richard Bernstein stated that if the roundabouts are approved as-is on Military Avenue, he is prepared to explore taking the issue to federal court. In March 2009, due to public outcry and the proposed law suit, the Council cancelled installation of the six proposed roundabouts, instead opting for installation of traffic signals.
(NWA) and Wayne County Airport Authority
on behalf of five disabled passengers, claiming that NWA and the Airport Authority violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Carrier Act and the Rehabilitation Act. The suit alleged that Detroit Metro Airport and NWA have dropped passengers to the floor, denied them accessible parking, damaged wheelchairs and failed to provide an area for guide dogs to relieve themselves. Further, the suit alleged that Detroit Metro Airport could be in violation of federal laws developed to improve access for the physically disabled.
On September 3, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge George Caram Steeh III
ruled that the ADA applies to air carriers. According to expert Gary Talbot of Boston, formerly of the U.S. Access Board, the ruling means floor slopes, boarding platforms, counter heights, bathrooms, how wheelchairs are handled and anything pertaining to Metro Airport must comply with ADA architectural guidelines. Talbot submitted a 100-page audit to the U.S. District Court in December 2008. According to an interview of Talbot in The Detroit News, the decisions of the judge in this case could drive change across the country with regard to ADA compliance and structural changes required to achieve compliance.
Announced on September 27, 2011, an order in U.S. District Court in Detroit resolved approximately 60 disputed items within the lawsuit had reached settlement. The order was signed by Judge Steeh, Atlanta-based Delta Airlines (which became part of the suit when it purchased Northwest Airlines during the time of the lawsuit) and the Airport Authority to make significant modifications to bring them into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act laws, and in some cases, the airline and airport authority already have (as of September 30, 2011). The order covers changes to Detroit Metro Airport's McNamara Terminal, North Terminal, parking garages, the Westin Hotel and airport shuttle buses to better accommodate disabled passengers. The court also ruled that the airlines and airport authority violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing an accessible path from an elevator discharge area to a pedestrian bridge at the airport in Romulus, southwest of Detroit.
Major upgrades include installing new curb ramps, accessible restroom stalls and cane detectors throughout the airport, as well as altering the slope of some ramps. Minor modifications include: signage changes, removal of confusing elevator switch plates and the provision of staffers to help disabled flyers at airline kiosks or crossing jet bridges.
The lawsuit was dismissed as part of the agreement for upgrades, and the airport and airline did not admit to wrongdoing or liability, as part of the agreement. The airline and airport authority have three years to comply with the modifications. Under the agreement, significant changes can be completed after the three years has elapsed and the timeline is open to negotiation.
(ABA) on behalf of legally blind school applicant Angelo Binno, a resident of West Bloomfield, Michigan in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Southern Division. The complaint alleges that by pushing law schools to use the Law School Admission Test
(LSAT) in its accreditation rules, the ABA imposes an inequitable test requiring "spatial reasoning and the ability to diagram” that discriminates against blind and visually impaired students. The suit alleges that the ABA is thereby failing to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The suit seeks injunctive and declaratory relief as well as a waiver from the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) for Binno due to his visual impairment caused by retinitis pigmentosa. According to news reports, Binno is not seeking financial damages.
Binno claims he has been denied entry to law school five times because of low LSAT scores, due to his inability to diagram for the logic game section and to be granted a waiver from taking the LSAT, administered by the Law School Admission Council
(LSAC). The LSAC administers more than 100,000 LSATs annually.
Questions that require diagramming to answer successfully make up one-fourth of the exam, consisting of 23 “logic game” questions in the three-part test. High LSAT scores improve an applicant’s chances of getting into a prestigious law school.
Binno graduated West Bloomfield High School
in three years instead of the traditional four, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science
from Wayne State University and was awarded high-level security clearance to access the National Crime Information Center
database with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where Binno worked for two years. Binno also speaks three languages.
The suit also alleges that law schools are pressured by the ABA to administer the LSAT because if they waive the exam for visually impaired applicants they risk losing their status as an ABA-approved school. According to the suit, schools could face sanctions, be put on probation or lose accreditation completely if they fail to comply by providing the LSAT.
According to the ABA, law schools must require applicants to take a “valid and reliable admissions test” but it has never required use of the LSAT. It claims that schools can use a test other than the LSAT if the school can establish that it is a “valid and reliable” test of an applicant’s “ability to satisfactorily complete the school’s education program.” Statistical studies have shown little, if any, correlation between high LSAT scores and academic success in law school.
The ABA also says it does not establish the weight a law school must give to LSAT test scores in its admissions requirements. However, Wayne State University Professor David Moss on June 15, 2011 on National Public Radio (NPR) said that some schools do accept students with low LSAT scores, but the LSAC directs schools not to give tests taken with special accommodations the same weight as regular LSAT test scores. Schools that accept low LSAT scores may damage their rankings in the annual U.S. News and World Report.
In a statement, the ABA said it “believes the LSAT does not unlawfully discriminate against persons with disabilities.” The ABA told NPR it requires universities it accredits to conform to federal law and that accommodations be made for people with disabilities.
The LSAC has been sued twice by the Department of Justice, once in 2002 and once in 2011, for failing to provide “reasonable accommodations” for disabled students and for having an “inaccessible website,” respectively. In the 2002 case, the LSAC did not grant extra time to four students with cerebral palsy
, which is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
On August 15, 2011, the ABA filed a motion to dismiss because the organization says it is not responsible for the administration of the LSAT. As of September 2011, the case is still pending.
: His term completed at the end of 2006. He lectures on legal practice, civil rights and political activism at the University of Michigan Law School
and the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
.
represents victims of personal injury or disability discrimination, leading the firm’s pro bono department. He also is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and served on the Wayne State University
Board of Governors for one eight-year term, including two years as vice chair and two more as chair, until deciding not to seek re-election in 2010 for a second term beginning in 2011. He was featured on CNN
as a leader in “Keeping Them Honest,” was honored by The Detroit News
as a “Michiganian of the Year” and was selected by Crain’s Detroit Business
as one of “40 Under 40.” In 2009, Bernstein was recognized as a "Leader in the Law" by Michigan Lawyers Weekly
for his work in disabled rights advocacy. Richard has been classified as legally blind since birth, as a result of retinitis pigmentosa
. In 2010, Richard Bernstein ran for Attorney General
in the State of Michigan but lost the Michigan Democratic Party
endorsement to David Leyton in one of the closest races for the democratic nomination, with a slim margin of just 153.6 proportional votes.
Farmington Hills, Michigan
Farmington Hills is a community in southeastern Michigan. It is the largest city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 79,740 at the 2010 census...
. The firm specializes in personal injury law. As of 2008, its main office employed approximately 50 employees.
Practice Specialty
The Law Offices of Sam Bernstein specialize in personal injury law. Cases include auto and motorcycle accidents, nursing home abuse, spinal cord injury and other types of medical cases, including medical malpracticeMedical malpractice
Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
.
History
The firm was founded in 1968 and is built on three generations of family members in the legal profession all serving the Metro DetroitMetro Detroit
The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is the metropolitan area located in Southeast Michigan centered on the city of Detroit which shares an international border with Windsor, Ontario. The Detroit metropolitan area is the second largest U.S. metropolitan area...
area.
The first generation of Bernstein lawyers included Mandell Bernstein and Estelle Koblin-Nelson, both practicing law in Detroit. The patriarch of the Bernstein family of lawyers, Mandell Bernstein, was born in 1899. Mandell graduated from law school in 1922 and practiced law in Detroit. The matriarch of the Bernstein family of lawyers, Estelle Koblin-Nelson, was one of the first female attorneys in Michigan in 1936 when she was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan.
Sam Bernstein represents the second generation of the Bernstein family of lawyers. After graduating from Wayne State University Law School
Wayne State University Law School
Wayne State University Law School is located in the City of Detroit’s Cultural Center, and is one of the schools of Wayne State University. It is one of two public law schools in the state of Michigan. The Law School has educated and trained lawyers since 1927, and its 10,000+ alumni serve as...
in 1968, Sam continued the tradition established by his father, Mandell, and mother-in-law, Estelle.
The third generation of Bernstein lawyers includes Mark Bernstein, Richard H. Bernstein
Richard H. Bernstein
Richard H. Bernstein is an American lawyer, practicing at The Law Offices of Sam Bernstein. He also is an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan and served on the Wayne State University Board of Governors for one eight-year term, including two years as vice chair and two more as chair,...
and Beth Bernstein. All three siblings currently practice law together at The Law Offices of Samuel I. Bernstein.
Detroit Department of Transportation (filed August 2004)
Suit filed against the City of Detroit on behalf of five disabled Detroit residents, claiming that half of the city’s buses lacked working wheelchair lifts as required by Federal LawFederal law
Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join together in a federation, surrendering their individual sovereignty and many powers to the central government while...
. The plaintiffs stated that they were forced to wait in inclement weather for long periods as a result of this violation. Amidst a very public battle in the local media where then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
Kwame Kilpatrick
Kwame Malik Kilpatrick is a former mayor of Detroit, Michigan. Kilpatrick's mayorship was plagued by numerous scandals and rampant accusations of corruption, with the mayor eventually resigning after being charged with ten felony counts, including perjury and obstruction of justice...
"publicly disparaged Bernstein on radio," The U.S. Department of Justice later intervened in the case, forcing the city and Kilpatrick to settle the Federal lawsuit. The agreement, ordered by the US Department of Justice on November 4, 2005, required the city to test the wheelchair lifts of its buses daily, improve the training of its drivers and mechanics and subject its buses to surprise evaluations regularly to ensure disabled patrons have access to public transportation. The City of Detroit Department of Transportation is under the supervision of the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
.
University of Michigan – Michigan Stadium (filed April 2007)
Suit filed on behalf of the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of AmericaParalyzed Veterans of America
The Paralyzed Veterans of America is a veterans' service organization in the United States of America, founded in 1946. The organization holds 34 chapters and 61 National Service Offices in the United States...
against University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
– Michigan Stadium claiming that Michigan Stadium
Michigan Stadium
Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Stadium was built in 1927 at a cost of $950,000 and had an original capacity of 72,000. Before playing football at the stadium, the Wolverines played on Ferry Field...
violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in its $226-million renovation by failing to add enough seats for disabled fans or accommodate the needs for disabled restrooms, concessions and parking. The U.S. Department of Justice assisted in the suit, which was settled in March 2008. The consent decree, signed by U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox
Sean Cox
Sean Francis Cox is a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He is the older brother of Mike Cox, Michigan's Attorney General....
required the stadium to add 329 wheelchair seats throughout the stadium by 2010, and an additional 135 accessible seats in clubhouses to go along with the existing 88 wheelchair seats. The school also will enhance the wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
accessibility of parking, access routes, restrooms, concessions and other amenities, and for disabled journalists, even the player locker rooms and coaches' offices. After the expansion was completed, the stadium accommodates 109,901, allowing the stadium to retain its designation as the largest in the USA.
Road Commission for Oakland County (filed August 2007)
Suit filed on behalf of three disabled Oakland County, MichiganOakland County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...
residents in federal court. The suit claimed that the plan by the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) to install roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
s at three different West Bloomfield, Michigan
West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
West Bloomfield Charter Township is an affluent charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan, within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the township had a population of 64,690. As of 2008, West Bloomfield Township was ranked the 8th highest income city in the...
intersections didn't comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009....
and prevented disabled pedestrians from being able to move freely throughout the area. The suit claimed that roundabouts are unsafe for blind and disabled pedestrians. The case came to a national precedent-setting agreement between the RCOC and Bernstein in March 2008 for the installation of roundabout safety equipment at each location at each entry point of the roundabout. If the safety equipment fails, the community may face a federal mandate to tear out the roundabout. A 43-page outline, issued by U.S. District Judge Victoria A. Roberts
Victoria A. Roberts
Victoria A. Roberts is a United States federal judge.Born in Detroit, Michigan, Roberts received her B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1973, and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 1977...
on March 27, 2009, detailed the timeline for research and installation of automated pedestrian safety equipment. The RCOC finished installing a High Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) system August 19, 2009, which cost $600,000. At a second roundabout in the suit, a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) was installed October 8, 2010. The cost to set up the system was $70,000. The RCOC said the flashing beacons will stay up for at least one year, while studies are conducted by Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
and North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
to determine whether the two systems impact pedestrian safety, particularly for disabled people. If the results are successful, the systems could be installed at other roundabouts.
In February 2009, in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
, the Green Bay City Council decided, against public opposition, to install six roundabouts on Military Avenue. Attorney Richard Bernstein spoke at the Council's February 16, 2009 meeting in opposition of the roundabout installations. In an interview with Green Bay television station WBAY-TV
WBAY-TV
WBAY-TV is the ABC television affiliate in Green Bay, Wisconsin, broadcasting on UHF digital channel 23 from a transmitter located in the town of Ledgeview, Wisconsin, and master control based in its building in downtown Green Bay...
, Richard Bernstein stated that if the roundabouts are approved as-is on Military Avenue, he is prepared to explore taking the issue to federal court. In March 2009, due to public outcry and the proposed law suit, the Council cancelled installation of the six proposed roundabouts, instead opting for installation of traffic signals.
Northwest Airlines and Wayne County Airport Authority (filed April 2008)
Suit filed against Northwest AirlinesNorthwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
(NWA) and Wayne County Airport Authority
Wayne County Airport Authority
Wayne County Airport Authority is a governmental entity that operates airports in Metro Detroit in Michigan. The agency has its headquarters in the L.C. Smith Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus...
on behalf of five disabled passengers, claiming that NWA and the Airport Authority violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Carrier Act and the Rehabilitation Act. The suit alleged that Detroit Metro Airport and NWA have dropped passengers to the floor, denied them accessible parking, damaged wheelchairs and failed to provide an area for guide dogs to relieve themselves. Further, the suit alleged that Detroit Metro Airport could be in violation of federal laws developed to improve access for the physically disabled.
On September 3, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge George Caram Steeh III
George Caram Steeh III
George Caram Steeh III is a United States federal judge.Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Steeh received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1969 and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1973. He was a Genesee County Prosecutor's Office from 1973 to 1980. He was an Assistant...
ruled that the ADA applies to air carriers. According to expert Gary Talbot of Boston, formerly of the U.S. Access Board, the ruling means floor slopes, boarding platforms, counter heights, bathrooms, how wheelchairs are handled and anything pertaining to Metro Airport must comply with ADA architectural guidelines. Talbot submitted a 100-page audit to the U.S. District Court in December 2008. According to an interview of Talbot in The Detroit News, the decisions of the judge in this case could drive change across the country with regard to ADA compliance and structural changes required to achieve compliance.
Announced on September 27, 2011, an order in U.S. District Court in Detroit resolved approximately 60 disputed items within the lawsuit had reached settlement. The order was signed by Judge Steeh, Atlanta-based Delta Airlines (which became part of the suit when it purchased Northwest Airlines during the time of the lawsuit) and the Airport Authority to make significant modifications to bring them into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act laws, and in some cases, the airline and airport authority already have (as of September 30, 2011). The order covers changes to Detroit Metro Airport's McNamara Terminal, North Terminal, parking garages, the Westin Hotel and airport shuttle buses to better accommodate disabled passengers. The court also ruled that the airlines and airport authority violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing an accessible path from an elevator discharge area to a pedestrian bridge at the airport in Romulus, southwest of Detroit.
Major upgrades include installing new curb ramps, accessible restroom stalls and cane detectors throughout the airport, as well as altering the slope of some ramps. Minor modifications include: signage changes, removal of confusing elevator switch plates and the provision of staffers to help disabled flyers at airline kiosks or crossing jet bridges.
The lawsuit was dismissed as part of the agreement for upgrades, and the airport and airline did not admit to wrongdoing or liability, as part of the agreement. The airline and airport authority have three years to comply with the modifications. Under the agreement, significant changes can be completed after the three years has elapsed and the timeline is open to negotiation.
American Bar Association (filed May 2011)
Suit filed against the American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
(ABA) on behalf of legally blind school applicant Angelo Binno, a resident of West Bloomfield, Michigan in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan is the Federal district court with jurisdiction over of the eastern portion of the state of Michigan. The Court is based in Detroit, with courthouses also located in Ann Arbor, Bay City, Flint, and Port Huron...
Southern Division. The complaint alleges that by pushing law schools to use the Law School Admission Test
Law School Admission Test
The Law School Admission Test is a half-day standardized test administered four times each year at designated testing centers throughout the world. Administered by the Law School Admission Council for prospective law school candidates, the LSAT is designed to assess Reading Comprehension,...
(LSAT) in its accreditation rules, the ABA imposes an inequitable test requiring "spatial reasoning and the ability to diagram” that discriminates against blind and visually impaired students. The suit alleges that the ABA is thereby failing to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The suit seeks injunctive and declaratory relief as well as a waiver from the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) for Binno due to his visual impairment caused by retinitis pigmentosa. According to news reports, Binno is not seeking financial damages.
Binno claims he has been denied entry to law school five times because of low LSAT scores, due to his inability to diagram for the logic game section and to be granted a waiver from taking the LSAT, administered by the Law School Admission Council
Law School Admission Council
The Law School Admission Council is a nonprofit organization whose members include more than 200 law schools throughout the United States and Canada...
(LSAC). The LSAC administers more than 100,000 LSATs annually.
Questions that require diagramming to answer successfully make up one-fourth of the exam, consisting of 23 “logic game” questions in the three-part test. High LSAT scores improve an applicant’s chances of getting into a prestigious law school.
Binno graduated West Bloomfield High School
West Bloomfield High School
West Bloomfield High School is a public secondary school in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The school is the only public high school in the West Bloomfield School District. The School Enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year is about 1900. West Bloomfield High School was previously located in the...
in three years instead of the traditional four, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from Wayne State University and was awarded high-level security clearance to access the National Crime Information Center
National Crime Information Center
The National Crime Information Center is the United States' central database for tracking crime-related information. Since 1967, the NCIC has been maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Criminal Justice Information Services Division, and is interlinked with similar systems that each...
database with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where Binno worked for two years. Binno also speaks three languages.
The suit also alleges that law schools are pressured by the ABA to administer the LSAT because if they waive the exam for visually impaired applicants they risk losing their status as an ABA-approved school. According to the suit, schools could face sanctions, be put on probation or lose accreditation completely if they fail to comply by providing the LSAT.
According to the ABA, law schools must require applicants to take a “valid and reliable admissions test” but it has never required use of the LSAT. It claims that schools can use a test other than the LSAT if the school can establish that it is a “valid and reliable” test of an applicant’s “ability to satisfactorily complete the school’s education program.” Statistical studies have shown little, if any, correlation between high LSAT scores and academic success in law school.
The ABA also says it does not establish the weight a law school must give to LSAT test scores in its admissions requirements. However, Wayne State University Professor David Moss on June 15, 2011 on National Public Radio (NPR) said that some schools do accept students with low LSAT scores, but the LSAC directs schools not to give tests taken with special accommodations the same weight as regular LSAT test scores. Schools that accept low LSAT scores may damage their rankings in the annual U.S. News and World Report.
In a statement, the ABA said it “believes the LSAT does not unlawfully discriminate against persons with disabilities.” The ABA told NPR it requires universities it accredits to conform to federal law and that accommodations be made for people with disabilities.
The LSAC has been sued twice by the Department of Justice, once in 2002 and once in 2011, for failing to provide “reasonable accommodations” for disabled students and for having an “inaccessible website,” respectively. In the 2002 case, the LSAC did not grant extra time to four students with cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
, which is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
On August 15, 2011, the ABA filed a motion to dismiss because the organization says it is not responsible for the administration of the LSAT. As of September 2011, the case is still pending.
Mark Bernstein
Mark Bernstein served in the White House Press Office as the White House director of press pool operations during the Clinton administration. Mark also was appointed to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission by Gov. Jennifer GranholmJennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-born American politician, educator, and author who served as Attorney General and 47th Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor...
: His term completed at the end of 2006. He lectures on legal practice, civil rights and political activism at the University of Michigan Law School
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...
and the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
The University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts is the liberal arts and sciences unit of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Established in 1841 with seven students and two teachers, the college is currently the largest unit at U-M in terms of the number of students...
.
Richard Bernstein
Richard H. BernsteinRichard H. Bernstein
Richard H. Bernstein is an American lawyer, practicing at The Law Offices of Sam Bernstein. He also is an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan and served on the Wayne State University Board of Governors for one eight-year term, including two years as vice chair and two more as chair,...
represents victims of personal injury or disability discrimination, leading the firm’s pro bono department. He also is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and served on the Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
Board of Governors for one eight-year term, including two years as vice chair and two more as chair, until deciding not to seek re-election in 2010 for a second term beginning in 2011. He was featured on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
as a leader in “Keeping Them Honest,” was honored by The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
as a “Michiganian of the Year” and was selected by Crain’s Detroit Business
Crain Communications Inc.
Crain Communications Inc is a publishing conglomerate based in Detroit, Michigan. The company publishes a variety of trade newspapers, including some city-based business newspapers, such as Crain's Cleveland Business, Crain's Chicago Business, Crain's Detroit Business, and Crain's New York Business...
as one of “40 Under 40.” In 2009, Bernstein was recognized as a "Leader in the Law" by Michigan Lawyers Weekly
Michigan Lawyers Weekly
Michigan Lawyers Weekly, published in Farmington Hills, Michigan, is a state-wide newspaper for the legal profession.The paper publishes each Monday, 52 weeks a year.-History:...
for his work in disabled rights advocacy. Richard has been classified as legally blind since birth, as a result of retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of genetic eye conditions that leads to incurable blindness. In the progression of symptoms for RP, night blindness generally precedes tunnel vision by years or even decades. Many people with RP do not become legally blind until their 40s or 50s and retain some...
. In 2010, Richard Bernstein ran for Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
in the State of Michigan but lost the Michigan Democratic Party
Michigan Democratic Party
The Michigan Democratic Party is the state-level party of the United States Democratic Party in Michigan. It is based in Lansing. Mark Brewer is the current Party Chair.-Current officeholders:...
endorsement to David Leyton in one of the closest races for the democratic nomination, with a slim margin of just 153.6 proportional votes.