Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments as to whether or not the ADA should be enforced on foreign-flagged cruise ships which dock at U.S. ports. Emerging Horizons offers a summary of the oral arguments and NPR provides some good overall coverage of the legal conflict involved. Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line stands to be the next test for the ADA, which the court has repeatedly weakened, mostly in decisions over what constitutes a disability and who then qualifies for protection under the act.

This case will likely hinge more on the value the court places on U.S. civil rights, generally, versus the interests of the international community, as the oral arguments suggested. As the ADA is applicable -- or not -- so will be any other U.S. anti-discrimination laws, it was pointed out. This seemed to add a new light to the cause, as discrimination on the basis of race was mentioned as a practice that could not reasonably be barred using the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if the anti-discrimination law for Americans with disabilities is found inapplicable to a foreign-flag ship. If this civil rights law does not apply to these ships, no other one will.

Ah, let me help you with a way to get around that pesky problem, Justice Scalia indicated to the lawyers for the cruise line. "Why don't you draw that line?" he said, suggesting that because the ADA requires physical changes to the structure of vessels for compliance, there might be some neat way to not discriminate for everything but that which requires actual change. Sell everyone a ticket, and let them sort out who can get up the stairs to where the lifeboats are on their own.

A decision is expected from the court by July.