Ah, yes, Tom, you have touched the nub, as the inimitable Jeeves was wont to
observe to Bertie Wooster, in the P.G. Wodehouse books.

Res judicata facet ex rectum curvo, ex curvum recto, ex blancum negro, et ex
negrum blanco.
("The rule of law makes the straight curved, the curved straight, white
black and black white"

(Apologies for any Latin grammatical errors; I am going from Memory, not my
copy of Black's.)

Harry

" When Eve upon the first of Men
  The apple press'd with specious cant,
  Oh! What a thousand pities then
  That Adam was not Adamant!"

               -  Thomas Hood (1799-1842) "A Reflection"


Harry Needham, M.A., CFE, etc.
President
Harry Needham Consulting Services Inc.
Training & consulting services for heritage institutions - and others!
74 Abbeyhill Drive
Kanata, Ontario K2L 1H1
Canada
email: [log in to unmask]
(Voice) +1.613.831-1068
(Fax) +1.613.831-9412
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2000 4:05 PM
Subject: strollers and ADA


> By returning the conversation to a matter of law, as Indigo Nights does,
> she makes an important point. It is fundamentally a legal question, and
> one which I assume most members of this list lack the expertise to
> answer. (No, being an intelligent person or having read the statute are
> not substitutes. There are sound reasons why practicing law takes time,
> study, and the ability to pass complex exams.)
>
> Look at this way: how much credence would you give to a discussion on a
> list for lawyers about an exhibit plan or a solution to an object
> conservation problem?
>
> I am not saying these aren't important issues to us all, for it is clear
> that they are. But it seems to me that if we want to discuss legal
> requirements and obligations, we should be sure we bring the expertise
> to the issue that we expect when discussing issues involving matters in
> our own fields.
>
> With all due respect to Indigo Nights, and forgive me if you have legal
> expertise in this area which you did not disclose or which I overlooked,
> my experience with the case law surrounding issues of reasonable
> accommodation or discrimination showed me that the issues were not
> particularly cut and dried. I believe we are better off focusing this
> discussion on the training and behavior of visitor service staff. For it
> is their actions and attitudes that are much more likely to determine
> whether a situation has a successful outcome. If the matter ends up
> being resolved in court, it is a fair bet that both visitor and museum
> will lose.
>
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