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ADA Policy Brief Series #12: The Supreme Court's ADA Decisions and Per Se Disabilities Wednesday, March 19, 2003
 
 Civil Rights
 PDF
 March 19, 2003 **S﻿COPE AND PURPOSE:** Unlike many of the other topics addressed in the *Righting the ADA* series, the Supreme Court of the United States has not made any dramatic changes to the state of the law regarding the basic concept of what the Court has called “*per se*disabilities.” Yet, the Court’s ADA decisions have changed the legal perspective on the application of this concept. This policy brief examines the meaning and significance of the *per se* disabilities concept, what the Supreme Court has said about it, and the implications of the Court’s declarations. The Latin words “*per se*” mean through itself, by itself, or in itself. A *per se* disability is a condition that intrinsically, by its very nature, qualifies as a disability. To constitute a disability under the ADA definition, a physical or mental impairment must result in a “substantial limitation of one or more major life activities.” Therefore, a *per se* disability under the ADA would be a condition that *always* substantially limits at least one major life activity.


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