United States Seventh Circuit

Denial of motion by a disability rights organization seeking declaratory and injunctive relief compelling a state agency to turn over records uncovered in an investigation of "time out" rooms in a school is vacated and remanded where the district court gave inadequate weight to the whole of the statutory scheme and undue emphasis to a technical reading of certain statutory elements. Federal protection and advocacy statutes are designed to establish and equip specialized agencies to look out for individuals with mental illness, and blocking an agency's motion because of privacy concerns defeated that goal.

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/02/2006
• Decided 09/13/2006
• Published 09/13/2006

Judges

• CUDAHY, Circuit Judge., Before CUDAHY, RIPPLE, and WOOD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Jeffrey Spitzer-Resnick (argued), Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy, Madison, WI, for Plaintiff-Appellant., Richard A. Schneider, King & Spalding, Atlanta, GA, for Amicus Curiae, National Disability Rights Network., Steven Y. Winnick, Holland & Knight, Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae, National Association of State Directors of Special Education.


• For Appellees:
  
• Thomas C. Bellavia (argued), Office of the Attorney General, Wisconsin Department of Justice, Madison, WI, for Defendants-Appellees.