Can a non-profit organization of or for handicapped persons sue for injunctive relief under section 504 of the Civil Code of Civil Procedure?

This court has already held that organizations of or for handicapped persons have standing to sue for injunctive relief under section 504. Williams v. United States, 704 F.2d 1162, 1163 (9th Cir.1983). GLAD is therefore clearly entitled to invoke section 504 for some purposes. So long as its claim is for expenses reasonably and foreseeably expended to secure for a handicapped juror an interpreter that the defendants were legally obligated to provide, we see no reason why GLAD, organized for the benefit of hearing-impaired persons, cannot maintain a damages action under section 504. Whether GLAD may actually recover its expenses must await further litigation of the merits in district court; our holding is that GLAD has standing to litigate that claim.

In their complaint, appellants alleged that refusal to provide them with an interpreter violated fourteenth amendment due process and equal protection. The district court found that these claims were waived because they were not mentioned during trial and because appellants' post-trial brief stated, "Because plaintiffs recognize that this case is better resolved without reaching a constitutional question, they do not here press their constitutional claim." Appellants refer to several points in the record where they contend they did raise the constitutional claims during trial. They also argue that they did not waive the claims in their post-trial brief, but merely followed Campbell v. Kruse, 434 U.S. 808, 98 S.Ct. 38, 54 L.Ed.2d 65 (1977) (vacating judgment based on constitutional claim and remanding for decision under section 504). ¹⁹

We agree with the district court's conclusion that plaintiffs waived their constitutional claims. Although the presumption is against waivers of constitutional rights, e.g., Brookhart v. Janis, 384 U.S. 1, 4, 86 S.Ct. 1245, 1246-47, 16 L.Ed.2d 314

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