Barred from traveling by golf cart, duo faces limited options
By CHAD SMITH
Fighting an uphill legal battle is difficult for anyone. But it's even more so when you have trouble simply walking out of the house.
That's what Morris Steinheimer and Mandy Fugate are facing.
Both sustained severe head injuries decades ago, long before they met, and have several disabilities. For them, the key to some sort of normalcy and independence over the past several years has been a golf cart.
Normally reserved for toting golfers around 18 holes, the cart carries Steinheimer, 45, and Fugate, 32, to the grocery store, to Anastasia Baptist Church and the YMCA, all several miles from their Treasure Beach Road home.
That is, it used to.
After a St. Johns County Court judge on July 10 upheld a state law that bars golf carts from sidewalks, the couple has had a difficult time adjusting back to immobility and dependence on Fugate's mother, Sandy Middlemiss, on top of trying to figure out the next step in the legal arena.
In March, Steinheimer was arrested after refusing to sign a citation for driving on a sidewalk He was hoping to get the judge to rule the law unconstitutional and wipe the citation off his record.
Middlemiss lives with the couple and said since the ruling they have been worried about what lies ahead in a world where they can't just pick up and go.
"It's been upsetting," Steinheimer said. "We're trying to survive, and for us we don't feel like we're hurting anybody."
For them, there are few alternatives.
There are motorized scooters. But Middlemiss said she bought one for her daughter, who is paralyzed on her left side, years ago, and she crashed it.
Driving is another option. But Steinheimer's injury stems from an automobile accident in which a friend died, and he has been fearful of driving since. Also, Middlemiss and the couple's attorney said it's unlikely he'd be able to get a license because of his disabilities.
There are taxis. But that would become too costly.
And there is the bus. But Middlemiss said the St. Johns County Council on Aging bus that would take the pair to eat with senior citizens on Fridays would come earlier and earlier. The driver would honk the horn when they weren't on time. Middlemiss said that caused them to rush.
"And when Mandy and Morris rush around, they fall," she said.
The Sunshine Bus stops on A1A at the end of Treasure Beach Road. But Steinheimer said that's a long walk from their home, especially considering he needs a walker and Fugate needs a cane to get around.
Tom Cushman, one of the couple's lawyers, said a hearing on Steinheimer's citation is scheduled for Friday. But after that, he said he would have to talk with his clients to determine whether they would appeal the judge's July 10 ruling.
"I think we pretty much have to appeal it, or otherwise they're pretty much stuck in their house," Cushman said.
The couple met at an Atlanta conference for people with brain injuries and got married shortly after in September 1998. They legally divorced last summer so Fugate could get the health insurance benefit from her father's Social Security because she had trouble finding a provider, Middlemiss said.
"In God's eyes, they are still married," she said.
Steinheimer and Fugate have been in separate states visiting relatives since early July but will be back home early this week.
In a telephone interview from Michigan, Fugate said she was upset by the judge's ruling. But, she added, she and her partner would press on no matter what.
"What? Do you think we're just gonna lay down and die?" she said. "I don't think so."
From his parents' home in Kentucky, Steinheimer said that, though this has been a difficult time for the couple, their bond has eased the tension.
"I'm her better half, and she's my better half," he said. "Love survives even after complications."
http://staugustine.com/stories/072708/news_072708_044.shtml
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Lawyer: Golf cart ban violates Constitution
Opponent says sidewalks are for pedestrians, not vehicles
By RICHARD PRIOR
An attorney for Morris Steinheimer argued Monday that the disabled man has a constitutional right to drive his golf cart on the sidewalks of St. Augustine Beach.
Steinheimer, who lives on Treasure Beach Road, has to travel a "substantial distance" to "church, grocery stores and other things" available to the public, said attorney Thomas E. Cushman.
His client is entitled to the "reasonable accommodation" of a golf cart to run ordinary errands with his "life companion," Mandy Fugate, who also is physically impaired, said Cushman.
Steinheimer suffered a severe brain injury in a four-wheeler accident in 1983, when he was 21 years old, Cushman said.
Fugate was injured in an ATV accident when she was 11 years old.
The couple got a divorce in June 2007 so Fugate could collect a portion of her father's Social Security benefits, said her mother, Sandy Middlemiss.
Denying Steinheimer a "reasonable accommodation" for his condition, Cushman said, is a violation of the U.S. and Florida Constitutions, the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Steinheimer told St. Johns County Judge Charles J. Tinlin that he has not had a driver's license since his accident. He doesn't feel physically able to drive a car, and he has concerns about maneuvering a car in traffic, he told the judge.
Without a driver's license, he can't operate the golf cart in the roadway.
Smaller "mobility devices," such as wheelchairs and Segway Personal Transporters aren't large enough to hold two people and their purchases, argued Cushman, who was assisted by local attorneys Anne Marie Gennusa and Kara E. Mort.
In response to the judge's question, Steinheimer said his golf cart has a top speed of 18 mph.
"A golf cart going 18 miles an hour on a sidewalk with pedestrians could certainly do some damage," Tinlin said.
Mort and Cushman cited that portion of the state statute covering motorized scooters that would be allowed on sidewalks.
They are restricted to three wheels and a top speed of 30 mph.
Steinheimer was ticketed March 29 near Jack's BBQ on A1A Beach Boulevard. He was arrested and later released on a pre-set bond of $200.
SAB Police Chief Richard Hedges said later that pedestrians claimed they had to move into the grass and onto A1A to get out of the way of the cart.
Steinheimer had received written warnings and citations in the past for driving on sidewalks. That was his first arrest.
Tinlin asked Cushman if it was true that the police department was responding to citizen complaints when an officer cited Steinheimer.
Cushman said he didn't know -- but he has collected the signatures of 3,000 people who think Steinheimer and Fugate should be allowed to drive on the sidewalk.
Asked by the judge to assess several letters to the editor that criticized Steinheimer, Cushman said he preferred to keep his feelings to himself.
"My opinion is (the letter writers) have never had a disability; they've don't need a reasonable accommodation."
"Steinheimer has a physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of his major life activities," his attorneys wrote in their motion to dismiss the charge. "(T)hat major life activity is walking."
Geoff Dobson, city attorney for St. Augustine Beach, brought a proposed ordinance before the City Commission a year ago that would have allowed Steinheimer and Fugate to use the golf cart on sidewalks under city jurisdiction.
The commission dismissed the proposal.
Even if it had been approved, the change would have covered only two streets in the city's jurisdiction - Mickler Boulevard and Old Beach Road. The other roadways are under state or county jurisdiction.
If Steinheimer feels he is "not qualified to operate a slow-moving electric vehicle or golf cart on the highway," Dobson said, he is "probably not qualified to drive the golf cart where there is pedestrian traffic."
He told Tinlin that the City doesn't discriminate against Steinheimer and Fugate. The distinction between their cart and the variety of motorized wheelchairs that is allowed "has to do with the number of people who can ride in the vehicle," he said.
The smaller vehicles aren't so large that they take over the sidewalks, which are for pedestrians, not vehicles, Dobson insisted.
"To open the door ... to allow golf carts on all the sidewalks of the state" would be unreasonable, he said.
Cushman wasn't put off by that prospect.
If a decision in his client's favor forced the Legislature to examine the needs of those with disabilities, "So be it," he said.
Tinlin said he hopes to have a decision by the end of the week.
http://staugustine.com/stories/070808/news_070808_055.shtml
By RICHARD PRIOR
An attorney for Morris Steinheimer argued Monday that the disabled man has a constitutional right to drive his golf cart on the sidewalks of St. Augustine Beach.
Steinheimer, who lives on Treasure Beach Road, has to travel a "substantial distance" to "church, grocery stores and other things" available to the public, said attorney Thomas E. Cushman.
His client is entitled to the "reasonable accommodation" of a golf cart to run ordinary errands with his "life companion," Mandy Fugate, who also is physically impaired, said Cushman.
Steinheimer suffered a severe brain injury in a four-wheeler accident in 1983, when he was 21 years old, Cushman said.
Fugate was injured in an ATV accident when she was 11 years old.
The couple got a divorce in June 2007 so Fugate could collect a portion of her father's Social Security benefits, said her mother, Sandy Middlemiss.
Denying Steinheimer a "reasonable accommodation" for his condition, Cushman said, is a violation of the U.S. and Florida Constitutions, the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Steinheimer told St. Johns County Judge Charles J. Tinlin that he has not had a driver's license since his accident. He doesn't feel physically able to drive a car, and he has concerns about maneuvering a car in traffic, he told the judge.
Without a driver's license, he can't operate the golf cart in the roadway.
Smaller "mobility devices," such as wheelchairs and Segway Personal Transporters aren't large enough to hold two people and their purchases, argued Cushman, who was assisted by local attorneys Anne Marie Gennusa and Kara E. Mort.
In response to the judge's question, Steinheimer said his golf cart has a top speed of 18 mph.
"A golf cart going 18 miles an hour on a sidewalk with pedestrians could certainly do some damage," Tinlin said.
Mort and Cushman cited that portion of the state statute covering motorized scooters that would be allowed on sidewalks.
They are restricted to three wheels and a top speed of 30 mph.
Steinheimer was ticketed March 29 near Jack's BBQ on A1A Beach Boulevard. He was arrested and later released on a pre-set bond of $200.
SAB Police Chief Richard Hedges said later that pedestrians claimed they had to move into the grass and onto A1A to get out of the way of the cart.
Steinheimer had received written warnings and citations in the past for driving on sidewalks. That was his first arrest.
Tinlin asked Cushman if it was true that the police department was responding to citizen complaints when an officer cited Steinheimer.
Cushman said he didn't know -- but he has collected the signatures of 3,000 people who think Steinheimer and Fugate should be allowed to drive on the sidewalk.
Asked by the judge to assess several letters to the editor that criticized Steinheimer, Cushman said he preferred to keep his feelings to himself.
"My opinion is (the letter writers) have never had a disability; they've don't need a reasonable accommodation."
"Steinheimer has a physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of his major life activities," his attorneys wrote in their motion to dismiss the charge. "(T)hat major life activity is walking."
Geoff Dobson, city attorney for St. Augustine Beach, brought a proposed ordinance before the City Commission a year ago that would have allowed Steinheimer and Fugate to use the golf cart on sidewalks under city jurisdiction.
The commission dismissed the proposal.
Even if it had been approved, the change would have covered only two streets in the city's jurisdiction - Mickler Boulevard and Old Beach Road. The other roadways are under state or county jurisdiction.
If Steinheimer feels he is "not qualified to operate a slow-moving electric vehicle or golf cart on the highway," Dobson said, he is "probably not qualified to drive the golf cart where there is pedestrian traffic."
He told Tinlin that the City doesn't discriminate against Steinheimer and Fugate. The distinction between their cart and the variety of motorized wheelchairs that is allowed "has to do with the number of people who can ride in the vehicle," he said.
The smaller vehicles aren't so large that they take over the sidewalks, which are for pedestrians, not vehicles, Dobson insisted.
"To open the door ... to allow golf carts on all the sidewalks of the state" would be unreasonable, he said.
Cushman wasn't put off by that prospect.
If a decision in his client's favor forced the Legislature to examine the needs of those with disabilities, "So be it," he said.
Tinlin said he hopes to have a decision by the end of the week.
http://staugustine.com/stories/070808/news_070808_055.shtml
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