The ADA-related issues addressed in the Casey Martin decision

The ADA-related issues addressed in the Casey Martin decision

The issue before the court was whether the denial of Casey Martin to use the cart in playing golf violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The Act prohibits discrimination on grounds of disability and requires reasonable accommodation of persons with disability. What the court had to determine was whether Casey’s condition was a disability under the ADA. The second issue was whether Title III of the ADA covers the Professional Golf Association (PGA). The third issue was whether walking was essentially required for the PGA tournaments. The last issue was whether the accommodation requested by Casey was reasonable.

The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decision that Casey’s condition was a disability under the ADA and that denying him the request to use a cart in the PGA tournaments constituted a violation of the statute. The court held that, in line with the broad statutory definition of “public accommodation”, golf tours fit properly within the scope of Title III, and that a golf course is a place of public accommodation. Secondly, the court ruled that permitting Casey to play with the golf cart would not amount to a fundamental alteration. Accordingly, the court stated that letting Martin to play with the cart did not change any fundamental element of the game, since walking is not a significant element of the game of golf. Furthermore, the court established that allowing Casey to play with the cart would not give him a greater advantage because using a cart would tire him more than other walking PGA competitors. I agree with the Supreme Court’s decision because the makers of the statute must have intended it to cover all forms of discrimination (Reaves, 2001).

References

PGA Tour, Inc. v Martin, 532 U.S. 661.

Reaves, J. (2001). The Casey Martin Case: The Supreme Court Takes up Golf. Time U.S. Retrieved from: http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,128306,00.html

The Americans with Disability Act