Litigation Updates

For decades CPR has worked tirelessly to ensure that people with mental illness can live, work, and participate in the community, free from coercion and forced treatment. This Executive Order is exactly wrong, and seeks to undo both the constitutional rights as well as the voluntary services that people need and deserve.  CPR is committed to defend those rights, oppose this Executive Order and stand with people with disabilities who want to control their own lives without government interference. 

Under the auspices of the federal Disability Employment Technical Assistance Center (DETAC), Steven Schwartz, CPR’s Special Counsel, just published a paper outlining the 14 components of an employment system transformation plan, and previously authored three seminal papers for DETAC on advocacy strategies for replacing segregated employment with CIE.   

July 23rd marked the 35th anniversary of the ADA.  It is a time for reflecting on the amazing accomplishments of the disability community and the stark threats to these recent gains.  As Steven Schwartz, CPR Special Counsel noted in a PBS news story.

Despite ongoing federal threats to the rights of people with disabilities, CPR has achieved impressive outcomes and dramatic progress in both our litigation and advocacy efforts.

Texas Public Radio airs feature following the landmark disability decision in Steward v. Young. CPR special counsel, Steven Schwartz, remarked on the decision, "It is clear that this court cares about people who told their stories, elevated their sometimes-tragic situations, and was really compassionate in understanding what sort of terrible lives people were forced into, unwittingly, unknowingly and really against their will."

A Texas federal judge has just ruled that State officials are violating federal law, causing irreparable harm to thousands of Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) whom they segregate in nursing facilities without mandated services or opportunities for community living.

The plaintiffs in Jonathan R. sought systemic relief for constitutional violations in West Virginia’s child welfare system while also raising claims on behalf of a subclass of youth with disabilities.

The Aging Mind, a one-hour APM broadcast special, explores the unique mental health challenges of older adults, and the models in place to care for them. Included are interviews with mental health providers, direct care workers, and older Americans living with mental health issues. Also included is a segment on the Marsters v. Healey class action lawsuit and interviews with Steven Schwartz, lead attorney for the Plaintiffs, and Carol Chojnacki, a named Plaintiff in the case.

CPR and Partners Issue Plain Language Explainer for Update on the Texas v. Kennedy (formerly Becerra) Lawsuit

On April 11, 2025, CPR joined a diverse group of academic law centers, university professors, unions, and legal advocacy organizations filing friend of the court briefs in support of litigation by two private law firms, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block. Both firms were the subject of Executive Orders filed in March of 2025 revoking their security clearances and requiring Government agencies and contractors to disclose any business they may have with the firms, terminate existing federal contracts, and refrain from hiring firm employees.