In the case of Vincent F. Rivera v. Florida Department of Corrections, 1998, Rivera was a prisoner who filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). He claimed that he had been discriminated against due to his disability as he was denied access to certain programs and services because he is HIV positive. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Rivera stating that state prisons are covered by ADA's anti-discrimination provisions and therefore must provide reasonable accommodations for disabled prisoners including those with HIV/AIDS. This ruling affirmed that individuals cannot be excluded from public entities' services or activities based on their disabilities, even if they are incarcerated.

In the dissenting opinion for Vincent F. Rivera v. Florida Department of Corrections, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold Rivera's conviction and death sentence failed to adequately consider significant issues related to his mental health at the time of his crimes. The dissent pointed out that there were serious questions about whether Rivera had been competent during both his trial and sentencing, as well as concerns about how effectively he had been represented by counsel given these circumstances. It was also noted that there were potential procedural errors in how evidence regarding Rivera's mental state had been handled during appeals. The dissent concluded by expressing concern over what they saw as a trend towards minimizing or ignoring such factors in capital cases, arguing this could lead to unjust outcomes.