Persons with Disabilities and the Meaning of Constitutional Equal Protection

Abstract

This Article focuses on the constitutional rights of persons with severe disabilities, arguing that the most severely disabled persons should not always be treated the same way as less severely disabled persons-just as severely and slightly injured tort plaintiffs should not receive equal damage awards. Professor Wright argues that federal constitutional and statutory law does not provide equal protection to persons with severe disabilities. A disabled person does not receive equal protection of the laws by receipt of just any government payment; the government payment must correspond to the circumstances the disabled person is in and the depth of his or her basic need or deprivation. Professor Wright concludes that, when establishing these government payment amounts, standardized but reasonably sensitive categories should be developed, thereby establishing a balance between a purely individualized standard and a crude distinction between severe and non-severe disabilities.