American Bar Association Bullies Blind Law School Applicant in Court Documents

By JERRY WOLFFE
Of The Oakland Press

Published: Thursday, October 13, 2011

It’s in Angelo Binno’s DNA to fight for justice and his destiny to become a lawyer as he dreamed of being when he was an eight-year-old child.

His late mother, Najat, and father, Samir, each fought 40 years ago to leave Iraq where they were persecuted because they were Christians to come to the United States and start a new life. His parents met once they were in this country, married and began pursuing the American dream.

Being blind from birth never stopped Binno,  29, of West Bloomfield, from succeeding at any task until he tried to be admitted to law school after graduating from Wayne State University.

Binno was denied admission to law school because the American Bar Association requires potential law students to take the Law School Admission Test. He did poorly on the test because it requires test-takers to draw pictures and diagrams, his attorney Richard Bernstein, who is also blind, said.

The LSAT is administered by the Law School Admission Council. Bernstein says that blind applicants should not be required to draw pictures and diagrams because it is nonsensical.

An LSAT score is the major criteria in gaining law school admission.

The ABA has the power to accredit law schools given to it by the U.S. Department of Education. The ABA will withdraw accreditation from any law school that does not require applicants to take the LSAT, Bernstein said.

Bernstein filed a lawsuit in August against the ABA saying it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act because requiring a blind applicant to take the LSAT is inherently discriminatory.

In a recent motion to dismiss the case, the ABA inferred that Binno would be unable to succeed academically if admitted to law school because his LSAT score was low. The ABA presented as a fact to U.S. District Court that Binno ranked in the 4th and 7th percentile on the LSAT.

“They made up false information about Binno  because the Law School Admission Council (the entity that gives the LSAT) specifically states that it will never rank a test-taker like Binno who takes the exam under accommodated conditions,” said Bernstein.

He said that the ABA, based in Chicago, is “attacking Binno personally by stating his low LSAT score means he’s not qualified to attend law school.”

“This is just being mean,” he added.

“I am disappointed in the ABA,” says Binno, who worked for the Department of Homeland Security in the Immigration section helping immigrants like his parents find a new home in America.

“The ABA is an organization that is supposed to fight for justice,” said Binno, who speaks Chaldean, Arabic and English and reads Braille.

“It is trying to discourage me but I won’t be discouraged because of my dream and that of my parents,” he said. “My parents always shared in my dream that I’d be an attorney who would helped others find justice.

“I want to be a lawyer so I can fight for the civil rights of those with disabilities,” he said.

“When I worked at Homeland Security, I had a special place in my heart for immigrants because my parents were immigrants and I would never have wanted my parents to be treated with disrespect.”

Binno said he never let anyone leave the Immigration office without all their questions answered and me knowing “I had done everything I possible could to make sure they could immigrate to the United States.”

Bernstein, who has filed a motion to strike the ABA’s recent motion to dismiss the case, said the “ABA has no understanding or concern for those who face challenges or have a disability in our society.

“The ABA is trying to humiliate my client in federal court because he can’t draw pictures or diagrams,” Bernstein added. “This will not be permitted to have a chilling effect on future civil rights.”

I suggest the ABA allow law schools to waive the LSAT requirement for blind applicants without taking away their accreditatation.

We need more, not fewer, attorneys like Binno who have faced and overcome challenges and have a heart for justice.

Perhaps, the American Bar Association should resist the temptation to engage in untrue, mean-spirited and vicious attacks against a blind applicant who is simply asking he not be forced to draw pictures or diagrams to obtain a legal education.