Opinion ID: 1852334
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether the Trial Court Erred in Failing to Consider the Americans With Disabilities Act in Determining Mitigation of Punishment or Appropriate Placement Among Sentencing Alternatives.

Text: Defendant argues that because defendant has been diagnosed as suffering from a bipolar disorder the district court erred in failing to apply the Americans with Disabilities Act as a factor of mitigation in sentencing or in determining placement options. In support of this claim, defendant relies on Pennsylvania Department of Corrections v. Yeskey, 524 U.S. 206, 118 S.Ct. 1952, 141 L.Ed.2d 215 (1998). Our review of that decision convinces us that it only mandates that specific services otherwise provided to prison inmates shall not be denied as the result of a disability. The defendant here has been denied no service because of his disability. The court found placement in the community inappropriate because of the nature of his criminal conduct. The fact of defendant's disability, if any, did not play any role in that decision. Defendant has failed to demonstrate that the sentence discriminated against him based on a real or supposed disability.