Barnett "Bud" Rosenfield, a prominent attorney who championed the rights of people with disabilities, and whose tireless legal advocacy eliminated barriers to inclusion for thousands of Minnesotans, has died of a heart attack at the age of 57.
Orphaned at an early age, Rosenfield overcame childhood tragedy to become one of the state's foremost leaders of the disability rights movement. Over a trailblazing career spanning three decades, he was instrumental in winning a spate of major legal advances for Minnesotans with disabilities, enabling them to enjoy freedoms that many able-bodied people take for granted.
"Bud worked long and hard for people's freedom so they could participate in society and have agency over their lives," said Anne Henry, a retired attorney at the Minnesota Disability Law Center, reflecting on Rosenfield's death last month. "He had brilliant legal skills, but he combined that with a tenacious commitment and compassion for his clients."
Rosenfield, a Boston-area native, spent the final year and a half of his life as the state ombudsman for mental health and developmental disabilities, though he is most known for his forceful and articulate legal advocacy. He played a pivotal role in a landmark 2016 civil rights case that accused the state of mismanaging more than $1 billion in Medicaid funds, forcing thousands of Minnesotans with disabilities to languish for months or even years on waiting lists for services that would have enabled them to live more independently in the community. The case roused public outrage and ultimately galvanized the state to eliminate the long-standing waiting lists.
Rosenfield also represented clients in a large-scale lawsuit alleging that people with disabilities were not getting the help they needed from the state to move into homes or apartments of their own, and instead were steered into four-bedroom group homes, where their everyday decisions were often carefully controlled. The multi-year legal fight led to a major legal settlement last summer, in which the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) agreed to expand access to independent housing for approximately 13,000 Minnesotans in group homes.
Rosenfield's unwavering dedication to the less fortunate stemmed from his childhood experiences growing up with an older brother with an intellectual disability.
He was the youngest of six children born to a middle-class family in Chelsea, Mass., a suburb of Boston. His mother, Lorraine, a nurse and homemaker, died of a brain injury when he was 9; and his father, Jace, a dentist, died four years later from complications related to early Alzheimer's disease. After his mother's death, Rosenfield and two of his siblings moved in with their aunt, Bonne Jean Johnson, who moved the children to Silver Spring, Md.
At an early age, Rosenfield developed a lasting bond with his brother, Paul, who was four years older and had Down syndrome. When Bud would go to music concerts or sporting events in high school, he would insist on his brother joining them. The siblings were often seen zipping around the neighborhood on their bikes, with Paul frequently not far behind his brother.
