Robert S. Gawthrop III,56, a U.S. District Court judge...

Robert S. Gawthrop III,56, a U.S. District Court judge whose rulings included a key decision involving AIDS victims, died of cancer Sunday in Philadelphia.

In 1994, Judge Gawthrop heard the case of a law firm accused of firing an associate with AIDS. The case ended in a settlement, but he wrote the first opinion that people with no symptoms of AIDS can be considered disabled under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

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