LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) — Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced Jan. 18 that he has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Angelo Binno v. the American Bar Association (ABA). Binno, who is legally blind, is suing the ABA for its refusal to exempt blind people from the logic games section of the LSATs.
“Our country prides itself on offering equal opportunities to our citizens,” Schuette said. “The ABA is currently inhibiting blind and visually impaired individuals from getting a legal education simply because they cannot see. Mr. Binno is not letting the fact that he is blind hold him back and it is not right for the ABA to do so.”
The logic games section of the LSATs include spatial reasoning tests and typically require diagramming. The ABA does not allow waivers for blind and visually impaired students. Binno, who graduated from Wayne State University, speaks three languages and has held high level security clearance at the Department of Homeland Security. He filed the lawsuit after being rejected from law schools for poor LSAT scores. The low scores are allegedly because of the logic games portion of the test.
“This man like many other visually impaired individuals is highly qualified for law school as his previous education and employment showcases,” Schuette said. “I filed this brief to help ensure that Angelo and any other visually impaired individuals in the future have a fair playing field to pursue their educational goals.”