ACLU and Disability Law Center File Lawsuit to Block Creation of New Restrictive Guardianships for Utahns with Disabilities
SALT LAKE CITY – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Disability Rights Program, the ACLU of Utah Foundation, Inc. (ACLU of Utah), and the Disability Law Center (DLC) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Utah against the State of Utah seeking to block the implementation of SB199. This bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Cox in March 2025, creates a new, more restrictive guardianship for a vague category of adults with “severe” intellectual disabilities. If allowed to go into effect, this law would deny Utahns with disabilities their constitutional right to due process and discriminate against them of rights in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
SB199 creates a separate guardianship system for those with a “severe” intellectual disability. But for a court to agree to use this guardianship, a physician or psychologist must merely describe an intellectual disability as “severe.” This new guardianship would allow a guardian to restrict who a person could talk to, and it denies protections to people subject to guardianship under the State’s guardianship bill of rights. The law would also not require counsel for individuals under certain conditions when the person seeking the guardianship is a parent, grandparent, or sibling. SB199 flips the current preference in state law for a limited guardianship to a full one for this subgroup.
“SB199 creates a separate, more restrictive guardianship for a class of people with disabilities and denies them the same rights as others, like the right to talk with friends or relatives, solely based on a doctor describing the severity of a diagnosis,” said Nate Crippes, Public Affairs Supervising Attorney at the DLC. “It also doesn’t allow for individualized determinations for this population, as is required by the ADA. And by limiting the right to associate, if a guardian is abusive or neglectful, we fear no one will know. On the other hand, studies show a person with greater self-determination is more likely to identify an abusive situation and less likely to experience it.”
“At its core, guardianship strips individuals of their civil liberties, autonomy, and legal personhood – often permanently. SB199 takes it a step further, singling out an ill-defined subset of people for a fast-track, ‘ultra-guardianship,’” said Zoe Brennan-Krohn, director of the ACLU Disability Rights Program. “Once in an ultra-guardianship, disabled people are subjected to expansive, unchecked power, allowing guardians to control a breathtaking range of invasive personal choices. The court must see through this blatant attempt to undermine protections and civil liberties for disabled people.”
“When the state strips people of their rights without due process or access to counsel, it violates our most basic civil liberties,” said Jason M. Groth, Legal Director of the ACLU of Utah. “SB199 allows a single diagnosis to trigger automatic guardianship, cutting people off from legal support with no chance to challenge the decision. These are life-altering choices that demand the strongest protections—not rushed shortcuts.”
Read the complaint here.