I am not “daredevil.” Often that is the first reaction I get when it comes out that I am (1) blind and (2) an attorney. There are way worse people to be compared to than a crime-fighting superhero, but I assure you the similarity ends at “blind” and “lawyer.” I have a good reason for bringing up comic book characters, and will come back to it shortly. First, though, a few words to introduce myself and my practice.
My name is Josh Loevy, and as of this posting, I am the newest attorney at Loevy and Loevy. I am here because I believe strongly in the firm’s mission of helping those who have had their rights violated and lives upended. But I am also here to take that mission to a new place. Over the coming months, I will work to build a Disabled Rights practice that brings the firm’s values and skills to work on behalf of the disabled. This is a very personal struggle to me. Not to beat you over the head with it, but I have been visually impaired for all my life, and nearly blind for over twenty years.
Disability Law is complex and wide-ranging. It touches so many areas of everyday life. It governs the way our children are educated, the way we travel, the way we vote. It protects our right to work, our access to entertainment and our treatment by law enforcement. In short, nearly every area of our lives is touched by some piece of law designed to protect the disabled individual’s ability to be treated equally by society.
A quick word on how I joined this fight. Obviously, it has been a personal one to me for most of my life. Strangely enough, my first true brush with advocacy for my rights as a disabled person came about when Netflix released Daredevil as a TV drama. I was astonished that the program, (about a blind lawyer, mind you) did not offer audio description, a technology service for blind viewers that gives a play by play of the non-verbal action happening within the show or movie. Individuals had been demanding this accommodation of Netflix and other streaming services for years with no result but it added insult to injury that it was not available for a show where even the main character is blind.
The federal government already requires TV networks to provide a set number of described programming each year, but as often is the case, the law has not yet caught up with technology. I, and many others, contacted print and TV journalists to voice our frustration. After weeks of public pressure, Netflix announced Daredevil, and it’s other original programing, would be offered with audio description going forward.
This small victory, while gratifying, was just that: a small victory. Often organizations are unwilling to yield to public pressure. They are unwilling to do the right thing, let alone that it is legally required, on their own. In those cases, it falls on the legal system to help ensure equal treatment and participation for disabled individuals.
This is the objective for the Disability Project at Loevy & Loevy. We will seek to protect the rights of disabled individuals to fair treatment under the law, and full participation in society. Over the coming weeks, I will be writing about some of the substantive rights disabled persons are guaranteed under the law and constitution. Among these topics, I will discuss the rights of disabled persons in custody under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the right to access public accommodations, voting rights, and education rights, just to state a few topics. I hope to help individuals with disabilities realize that fair treatment is not a courtesy, but an iron clad right. I look forward to stringing victories, big and small, together; to carry on the fight for equality and justice.
Awesome!
Wow. Great post. My son has Aspergers and is 16. He has been denied so much from the school district and there has never been a place or person to turn to. It is exciting to know people will have you.
Way to go. Fortunate to share your work in Los Angeles. Los Angeles could sure use your drive, dedication, intelligence and work helping ensure rights for those who live with challenges that come with having a disability. Please stay strong and know that there is an entire population who are grateful and supportive of your work.
Josh Loevy I support you 100%
You are just awesome. I thank you for your efforts, I know with your determination and deep conviction for disabled people who are mistreated and abused by law enforcement daily, that you will be-already are a GREAT SUCCESS! My husband and I are both disabled, and I have lived almost six decades never thinking that an officer of the law would just blatantly hurt someone, just break the law seemingly for fun. As you spoke of your moment with Netflix, we had our moment with officers of the law which has changed our lives forever and not in a positive way. Completely innocent victims of a tip or maybe not, my husband not 30 minutes out of major surgery fell and was immediately pounced on by two or more officers holding my husband down with their elbows in his injured neck and knees in his back, twisting his arm he had just had operated on, beating him in the head, all the time my husband was yelling for help over and over as was I. I thought these officers were going to break his neck. We have an unbelievable case, and I have written your firm about this horrific event that has taken my husband’s health. He is facing serious neck surgery; both of us stay worried, stressed, and we need a fighter for right for elderly, disabled people who constantly told these officers about our disabilities. We have never broken the law; we have been married 31 years this year and have always been law abiding citizens. We need help. Thank you Mr. Loevy for what you do to protect the rights of people and for fighting for those of us who are disabled who, more than not, police officers bully, harass, hurt, and sometimes kill completely innocent victims.