On May 17, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Tennessee v. Lane (No. 02-1667), a case raising the question of whether a state was liable in damages when a courthouse did not accommodate reasonable access of a person with a disability as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

By a 5-4 decision, the court found the State of Tennessee to be liable but limited its finding to courthouses. While there are hundreds (if not thousands) of public buildings that do not meet ADA standards, including firehouses, Tennessee v. Lane established no law on state ADA liability in damages for accessibility problems in any of those buildings (though, in past cases, the Supreme Court's limitation of liability of states for ADA violations has not translated into limitation of local government liability.)

Church and state issue

If your specs for a new fire truck included a provision for painting part of the 23rd Psalm on the side of the rig, would that raise church/state separation issues? In Marion, Ind., a member of the city council asked that question when she saw “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” painted on the side of Marion's newest engine.

Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold decided to let the verse stay on the side of the fire truck, in part because he felt it described how firefighters feel when they get a call at 2 a.m.

There's actually some precedent that supports Seybold's response, although it involves an argument not used (or appreciated) by folks who think there's too much separation of religion and the state. Why does the dollar bill (and other currency) continue to bear the phrase, “In God We Trust” without major-league legal dispute? Because, according to the courts, the phrase has lost its religious meaning, and has simply become part of the background on currency. The “valley-of the shadow of death” part of the 23rd Psalm has, one can argue, undergone a similar secularization.