The Evolution of Disability Rights Litigation (and some stories)
David Ferleger, Esq.
David Ferleger, J.D. of Philadelphia, PA, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1972. He has a national law and consulting practice, specializing in public interest, civil rights and disability law.
He has litigated landmark disability cases, argued five times before the Supreme Court of the United States, assisted the courts, represented individuals and government agencies, taught law school, and has written, lectured and consulted nationally. About David Ferleger (continued)
"David Ferleger is a great legal mind of our time and long-standing champion of the rights of people with developmental disabilities. A son of two holocaust survivors, David has a profound understanding of the egregious harms, and even death, that people are vulnerable to when their humanity is not fully recognized. For decades, David has successfully used the courts and other skillful advocacy strategies to create protections from harm, end unnecessary and unlawful institutionalization, and to help people with disabilities return to the community, fully exercise their citizenship rights. and live full and dignified lives."
Ruby Moore
Georgia Advocacy Office
Interview conducted: April 6, 2011 Posted: June 23, 2011
The Arc of Disability Rights Litigation
In the Supreme Court: The Right to Treatment
Video Part 1
Video Part 2
Why I Do What I Do
In the Supreme Court: Civil Commitment and the Least Restrictive Principle
In the Supreme Court (or Heading There): Two Undecided Questions on Community Services:
Does the Right to Community Services Protect People Not (Yet) Institutionalized?
Does the Right to Community Services Protect People Who Are "Voluntarily" Institutionalized?
Use of Human Services Restraint: Reduce, Replace or Relinquish?
Article: Use of Human Services Restraint: Reduce, Replace or Relinquish
In the Supreme Court: The Constitutional Right to Community Services
Employment for People with Disabilities
Evolutions in Advocacy, A Brief History: The Bible to Bedlam to Bill Johnson (Article)
The September 2010 issue of The Federal Lawyer includes a section on Disability Law, a profile of United States District Court Judge Donovan Frank, and two articles on disability related topics.
Note: The language and terminology contained in some documents or articles are recognized as outdated, but is historical in nature and so retained as used or referenced in the original.