Disability Law Center v. Cox

The ACLU Disability Rights Program, the ACLU of Utah Foundation, Inc. (ACLU of Utah), Disability Law Center (DLC), and the Law Firm Arnold & Porter, Kaye, Scholer, LLP, bring this challenge to Senate Bill 199 (SB 199), which subjects people classified as having a “severe intellectual disability” to a separate, second-class guardianship system in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).

Prior to July 2025, Utah’s longstanding guardianship system recognized the significant impact guardianships have on individuals. A set of commonsense rights and a system of procedural checks and processes was designed to prevent the loss of rights or abuse caused by unnecessary or overbroad guardianships. That is no longer the case.

In July 2025, SB 199 was implemented and created a two-tier guardianship system. People categorized as having a “severe intellectual disability” are now funneled into a harsher guardianship system, where they are stripped of key rights and protections. This results in overly restrictive and unnecessary guardianships, which increases the risk of abuse and neglect. Based on a classification of “severe intellectual disability,” SB 199 discriminates based on disability and denies people subject to SB 199’s guardianship system an equal opportunity to assert their rights and benefit from the safeguards afforded in the standard guardianship system.

SB 199 creates a chasm between the rights of people in standard guardianship proceedings and those in SB 199 guardianship proceedings. The only distinction between the SB 199 guardianship process and the standard guardianship process is a determination that the respondent has a “severe intellectual disability.”

To trigger SB 199’s guardianship process, a petitioner only needs to present a signed letter or report from a physician or psychologist that indicates that the adult is an individual with a “severe intellectual disability.” SB 199 does not adequately define this term or require any standard of proof.

Once subject to SB 199 legal proceedings, respondents functionally lose the right to any kind of representation, lose the right to object to a guardianship, lose the right to a jury trial, and lose the right to a preference of a less restrictive guardianship. Once a SB 199 guardianship is imposed, they also lose protections that would otherwise limit or oversee the guardian’s authority.