The ADA Black Hole: How Judges Pretend Disability Rights Don’t Exist in America’s Courtrooms

By Michael Phillips

In courtrooms across the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) might as well not exist.

Despite being federal law for over three decades, the ADA is often treated by judges like an optional guideline—something to be acknowledged with a polite nod, then swiftly ignored. For individuals like Marc Fishman, Jeffrey Reichert, Taran Nolan, myself, and others like us stuck in family court, the consequences of this judicial indifference are not just procedural—they’re life-altering.

The Illusion of Access

Courts are supposed to be open to everyone. But for disabled litigants, this promise rings hollow. While the ADA theoretically guarantees equal access to legal proceedings, in practice, accommodations are denied, delayed, or strategically sidestepped. Judges frequently claim a litigant’s disability is “not relevant” or “insufficiently proven,” or worse, they simply don’t respond to ADA requests at all. It’s a bureaucratic sleight of hand that undermines both due process and human dignity.

Take Marc Fishman. Despite being legally disabled due to multiple chronic conditions, including TBI, Fishman faced false accusations in New York and was convicted, all without meaningful accommodation during his family court ordeal. His symptoms were documented; his disability, indisputable. Yet the court dismissed his needs as inconvenient. He was punished for being disabled, not protected.

Jeff Reichert, another litigant in Maryland family court, submitted ADA accommodation requests due to cognitive and neurological impairments, including PTSD. His requests were ignored. Instead, the court retaliated, jailing him multiple times and refusing to acknowledge his due process rights. These weren’t oversights—they were deliberate obstructions.

Taran Nolan, a quadriplegic mother and survivor of catastrophic trauma, has been forced to endure legal proceedings without even the most basic support. Despite being wheelchair-bound and living with a traumatic brain injury, the California courts have dragged her through hearings without ensuring accessible transportation, legal assistance, or consideration for her neurological limitations. In her case, even the trauma of losing a child in the accident that disabled her is weaponized against her in family court.

I’ve faced it too. Diagnosed with PTSD, ADHD, and residual neurological effects from childhood epilepsy, I requested accommodations in Maryland courts. Not once—dozens of times. I asked for clear communication, more time to review documents, breaks during hearings, and sensitivity around triggering subjects. What I got instead were denied motions, dismissed claims, and repeated violations of my constitutional rights.

All of us haven’t seen our child in months, some for years. Our rights as both a parent and a disabled American have been erased in real time.

Why Do Judges Get Away With This?

Because no one is watching—and no one is holding them accountable.

Unlike schools or employers, courts are given shocking deference when it comes to enforcing the ADA. Judges claim “judicial discretion” or “sovereign immunity” to escape oversight. Many states lack independent ADA coordinators for the judiciary, or there are fake offices set up that don’t physically exist. Complaints disappear into black holes. There is no external review, no meaningful enforcement, and no pathway to challenge denials in real time.

When a judge violates the ADA, litigants must often appeal after the damage is done—after they’ve lost custody, gone to jail, or had their rights steamrolled in inaccessible hearings. By then, it’s too late. The process is the punishment.

A System Built to Exclude

It’s not just isolated incidents. This is a systemic issue baked into the design of our courtrooms—especially family courts, where subjective bias runs rampant and “best interest of the child” is twisted into a weapon. Disability is used not as a reason to accommodate, but as a reason to discredit, silence, or punish. Judges rely on stereotypes, not science. They view disability as instability, accommodation as advantage.

Meanwhile, court personnel are often untrained on ADA compliance, and lawyers fear antagonizing judges by pushing for enforcement. Pro se litigants, who already face barriers, are left to navigate a legal labyrinth without a map, compass, or ramp.

The Real Cost

When the ADA is ignored in court, the cost isn’t just legal—it’s human. Children are taken from disabled parents. Survivors of trauma are retraumatized. Individuals with neurological differences are punished for how their brains work. And the very system designed to uphold justice instead becomes a crucible of harm.

We should be asking: If a court can ignore the ADA, what other laws can it ignore? What rights, what safeguards, what principles are we willing to let evaporate behind the closed doors of our courthouses?

It’s Time to Demand Enforcement

The ADA is not a suggestion. It’s a civil rights law. Judges who ignore it are not exercising discretion—they are violating federal law. And the consequences should be real.

We need:

• Mandatory ADA training for judges, clerks, and court personnel.
• Independent ADA coordinators for every state court system with enforcement authority.
• Clear, accessible complaint pathways and real penalties for violations.
• Federal oversight, especially in family courts where abuses are most common.

Disabled people deserve equal justice. That means full participation, not exclusion. That means access, not obstruction. That means courts that see our humanity—not our diagnosis.

Until then, the ADA will remain a broken promise in the one place it should matter most: the halls of justice.

If you are a disabled litigant or advocate seeking support, reach out to The Thunder Report, or email me directly. You are not alone—and your rights matter.