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State Attorney General Joins Blind Man's Lawsuit Alleging LSAT Discrimination
State Attorney General Bill Schuette filed a brief Thursday on behalf of Angelo Binno, a blind man from West Bloomfield who sued the American Bar Association for discrimination.
Michigan Atty. Gen. Bill Schuette filed a brief Thursday on behalf of Angelo Binno, a blind man from West Bloomfield, who claims that the Law School Admission Test is "inherently discriminatory."
against the American Bar Association by Farmington Hills-based attorney Richard Bernstein, claiming that requiring blind or visually impaired law school applicants to take the LSAT is a violation of their civil rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to documents filed by Schuette, if Binno's allegations are proven true, the ABA not only has violated the ADA, but the organization also has violated the Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act.
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Bernstein said in May that filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division was “the last resort” in a situation that has been ongoing since 1996. The LSAT tells testees “it may be useful to draw a rough diagram” to answer 23 questions in the logic games section of the three-part exam, which Binno describes as “impossible” for someone who is blind.
A high LSAT score is considered to be the most important factor in being admitted to law school. According to Bernstein, if a law school were to waive the requirement, the ABA would threaten that institution with removing its accreditation as a law school, as a result of a lobbying effort by the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC). The ABA and the LSAC are private entities.
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Bernstein, a noted civil rights attorney, was told as a blind applicant in a May 25, 1995, letter from the LSAC that he should seek an LSAT waiver as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. He eventually graduated from Northwestern University with his law degree in 1999.
“That letter was sent to me by mistake,” Bernstein said. “The people who administer the test are completely aware of the fact that this exam is inappropriate for a blind person.”
Oral arguments are scheduled for 2 p.m. Nov. 22 before Judge Denise Paige Hood in Detroit.
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