Mental health diagnoses impact the daily lives of many young people and adults in the United States. This course will engage in a survey of legal issues that impact the rights of people with mental health diagnoses including civil commitment, police response to mental health crisis, competency in criminal court, discrimination and reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA), and competency in immigration court. This course will apply the lessons of the Disability Justice movement in the United States by contextualizing the practice of law within intersecting systems of power and oppression including race, age, gender, national origin, and sexuality. This course will also contextualize these legal issues within current events including the isolation and disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic; the reckoning of the impact of police violence on the lives of Black people and people of color; and movements to limit conversion treatment for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Grading: Letter Credits: 2 Offered:
