Disability Rights Trailblazer Passes

L to R: Sue Jamieson, staff attorney with Atlanta Legal Aid; Elaine Wilson, Lois Curtis, co-plaintiff in the Olmstead case

On Dec. 5, 2004, the equal justice community mourned the passing of Elaine Wilson, 53, the courageous plaintiff whose victory in the landmark 1999 disability rights case of L.C. and E.W. v. Olmstead improved the lives of thousands of disabled Americans. Represented by the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Wilson and her co-plaintiffs successfully argued before the Supreme Court that the Americans With Disabilities Act should be interpreted to allow people with disabilities to live in the most integrated community setting possible.

Wilson was denied that opportunity during a 15-year period in which she was institutionalized 35 separate times with mental disabilities. Her victory in the Olmstead case ensures that others living with disabilities will be afforded the maximum opportunity to lead comfortable, autonomous lives. Unlike many institutional settings, integrated community facilities provide opportunities for the disabled to make friends, hold jobs, stay active in the local community, and leave their homes to shop and socialize.

"The only difference between Elaine and other people in institutions
is that she was given a chance."--Sue Jamieson, Atlanta Legal Aid Society

Wilson remained a strong voice for the disabled in the years following the Olmstead ruling. She was said to be troubled by the slow pace at which the Supreme Court’s ruling was being implemented around the country, particularly in her home state of Georgia. According to a 2002 University of Colorado report charting states’ progress in moving qualified disabled patients from institutions into integrated communities, Georgia ranked near the bottom. Sue Jamieson, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society staff attorney who represented Wilson in the Olmstead case, said of her late client: “Elaine was exceptional because she survived so many years in an institution and was able to turn around and be the person she probably would have been if she had never been put there in the first place. The only difference between Elaine and other people in institutions is that she was given a chance—the same chance she fought to give other people like her.”