Treasury Ordered by Federal Judge to Make Paper Money Recognizable to
Blind People
November 28, 2006                       1415:

WASHINGTON --  By keeping all U.S. currency the same size and texture,
the government has denied blind people meaningful access to money, a
federal judge said Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge James Robertson said the Treasury Department has
violated the law, and he ordered the government to come up with ways
for the blind to tell bills apart.

He said he wouldn't tell officials how to fix the problem, but he
ordered them to begin working on it within 10 days. The American
Council of the Blind has proposed several options, including printing
bills of differing sizes, adding embossed dots or foil to the paper or
using raised ink.

"Of the more than 180 countries that issue paper currency, only the
United States prints bills that are identical in size and color in all
their denominations," Robertson wrote. "More than 100 of the other
issuers vary their bills in size according to denomination, and every
other issuer includes at least some features that help the visually
impaired."

Government attorneys argued that forcing the Treasury Department to
change the size of the bills or add texture would make it harder to
prevent counterfeiting. Robertson was not swayed.

"The fact that each of these features is currently used in other
currencies suggests that, at least on the face of things, such
accommodations are reasonable," he wrote.

He said the government was violating the Rehabilitation Act, which
prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in government
programs. The opinion came after a four-year legal fight.

"It's a landmark decision. I believe it will benefit millions of
people," said Jeffrey A. Lovitky, attorney for plaintiffs in the
lawsuit.

... Hanging Chad was not a judicial candidate in Florida.