This Article focuses on the constitutional rights of persons with severe
disabilities, arguing that the most severely disabled persons should not always be
treated the same way as less severely disabled persons-just as severely and slightly
injured tort plaintiffs should not receive equal damage awards. Professor Wright
argues that federal constitutional and statutory law does not provide equal
protection to persons with severe disabilities. A disabled person does not receive
equal protection of the laws by receipt of just any government payment; the
government payment must correspond to the circumstances the disabled person is
in and the depth of his or her basic need or deprivation. Professor Wright
concludes that, when establishing these government payment amounts,
standardized but reasonably sensitive categories should be developed, thereby
establishing a balance between a purely individualized standard and a crude
distinction between severe and non-severe disabilities
