By Timothy M. Phelps in the Los Angeles Times ‘Top of the Ticket’ blog:

In all the questioning of Sonia Sotomayor, there was no discussion of one of the more interesting aspects of her nomination: She may be the first person named to the court in recent times with a known, serious chronic illness such as diabetes.

Phelps writes that Sotomayor’s longevity on the court could be limited in comparison to Republican appointees, even if she manages her condition well.

But other experts on the disease say it will be a valuable thing to have the perspective of such a person on the court. In 1999 the court decided that workers with treatable medical conditions, such as diabetes, were not disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act and therefore could be fired because of their medical problems. The decision provoked an outcry, and last year Congress changed the law to protect people like Sotomayor.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 9:23 am and is filed under ADA, Obama administration, chronic illness, diabetes, law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.