Ruth Colker

Heck Faust Memorial Chair in Constitutional Law
Michael E. Moritz College of Law
The Ohio State University

Ruth Colker is the Heck Faust Memorial Chair in Constitutional Law at the Michael E. Moritz College of Law at  The Ohio State University.  She is a nationally recognized expert in constitutional law, disability discrimination, feminist theory and gay rights.  She has been a recipient of the University's Distinguished Lecture Award (2001), Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award (2002) and Distinguished Scholar Award (2003).

The purpose of this website is to provide current information on projects and publications related to Colker's research and advocacy interests. 

• Kellen Ressmeyer won the Essay category;

  Krum Chuchev won the Law Practice category

  Congratulations to these fine legal writers!

  New competition rules for 2007-08 are now available.

The Law of Disability Discrimination

• The Sixth Edition of the Casebook and Handbook is now available from Lexis Publishing
• Sixth Edition Supplement
• H.R. 3195 (as passed by the House of Representatives)

• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a fact sheet on May 23rd addressing the application of the reasonable accommodation obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to attorneys with disabilities and their employers. The new publication is available on the agency's web site at
  http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/accommodations-attorneys.html
   

Recent Publications

When is Separate Unequal? (Cambridge University Press) (forthcoming 2009)

The Limits of Formal Equality, Ohio State L. J. (forthcoming 2009)

Why I No Longer Give Time-Pressured Exams: A Disability Perspective, U. Pitt. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2008)

The Mythic 43 Million Americans with Disabilities, 49 William & Mary L. Rev. 1 (2007)

Anti-Subordination Above All: A Disability Perspective, 82 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1415 (2007)

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's Friends, 68 Ohio State L. J. 517 (2007)

The Disability Integration Presumption:  Thirty Years Later, 154 U. Penn. L. Rev. 789 (2006)

Marriage Mimicry:  The Law of Domestic Violence, 47 William & Mary L. Rev. 1841 (2006)

The Future of Accessible Voting:  A Crossroad?, Election Law @ Moritz (April 18, 2006)

Recent Media Interviews

Election Monitor Accesses Effects of Early Voting, WOSU AM (April 20, 2006)

Recent Legal Decisions

American Council of the Blind v. Paulson , (D.C. Cir. May 20, 2008)

• Violates federal law against disability discrimination for United States currency not to be accessible to individuals with visual impairments

National Pride at Work v. Governor of Michigan, No. 65870 (Court of Appeals Feb. 1, 2007)

• Court of Appeals reverses lower court, concluding that state's anti-marriage amendment precludes same-sex benefits at University of Michigan

• Notice that this decision is consistent with how Ohio state court judge in Brinkman, below, would likely have ruled if the case hadn't had standing problems

• Decision affirmed by Michigan Supreme Court (May 7, 2008)

California Marriage Decision (May 15, 2008)

• Violates California Constitution not to permit same-sex couples to marry

Brinkman v. Miami, No. CV 2005-11-3736 (Butler County Common Pleas, Ohio Nov. 2006) (granting summary judgment to defendant university on standing grounds in case challenging same-sex benefits)

• Judge makes it clear he would rule for defendant-university if standing problems were resolved

• Case is likely to be appealed by plaintiff

The lower courts are split on the CLS controversy -- whether law schools can force the Christian Legal Society to comply with their nondiscrimination policies as a condition of funding.

• Christian Legal Society v. Walker, 453 F.3d 853 (7th Cir. 2006) (granting injunction to plaintiffs pending appeal)

  • the 7th circuit court also has the oral arguments
    available in audio

• Christian Legal Society v. Kane, 2006 WL 997217 (N.D. Cal. 2006) (denying summary judgment to plaintiffs and granting defendants' motion for summary judgment)

Hernandez v. Robles, No. 86 (NY July 6, 2006) (holding that New York state law does not permit same-sex marriage and state constitution does not compel the recognition of same-sex marriage)

Evans v. City of Berkeley, 40 Ca.Rptr.3d 205 (2006) (city permitted to condition continued free use of city marina by volunteer young organization on its compliance with city's sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy)

• This unanimous decision is consistent with the N.D. Calif. opinion in Christian Legal Society v. Kane, which I discussed in the April 2006 archives.

• There are therefore two opinions from California -- N.D. Calif. and Calif. Supreme Court -- upholding the right of governmental officials to enforce a sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy over first amendment objections

Personal Information

• I recently won my age group in the Panera 5 km run, came in third in my age group in the UACA 5 miler and won the "grandmaster" category in the Columbus 10 km run.  As one of my friends said, I am moving into a new decade gracefully!