2018 Press Releases

November 27, 2018 – The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, a national legal advocacy organization advancing the rights of people with mental disabilities, announces Julia Garrison, Georgetown University Law Center graduate, as the new David and Mickey Bazelon Fellow, effective immediately through August 2020. Read the release here (PDF).

November 8, 2018 – The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Disability Rights Ohio (DRO), and the law firm Steptoe & Johnson celebrate a ground-breaking settlement agreement reached in the longstanding Doe v. State of Ohio special education class action lawsuit that will improve the academic achievement of students with disabilities, in part by supporting their inclusion in regular classrooms.  Read the release here. (PDF)

October 11, 2018 – The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has issued a revised edition of its guide to the voting rights of people with mental disabilities, “VOTE. It’s Your Right. Guide to the Voting Rights of People with Mental Disabilities.”  The guide was compiled jointly with the National Disability Rights Network, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, and the law firm of Schulte, Roth & Zabel. Read the release here. (PDF)

August 14, 2018 – The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, along with co-counsel Disability Rights DC at University Legal Services, the National Center for Youth Law, and law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel, files class action complaint on behalf of hundreds of District of Columbia children who are unnecessarily institutionalized or at serious risk of institutionalization. Read the release here. (PDF)

March 12, 2018 – The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Disability Rights New York, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Mobilization for Justice (formerly MFY Legal Services), the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the State of New York filed in federal court a proposed settlement agreement that requires the State of New York to provide as many scattered-site, supported housing units as necessary to afford all adult home residents with serious mental illnesses the opportunity to live in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, and provide and maintain community services and support. Read the release here. (PDF)

January 23, 2018 – The Bazelon Center announces a new partnership with Steptoe & Johnson LLP to counsel and support students facing discrimination on their college and university campuses due to their mental health disabilities. Read the release here. (PDF)

January 22, 2018 – The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law announces the appointment of Holly O’Donnell, as the organization’s new CEO. Read the release here. (PDF)