Disabled man suing Benton County over treatment while in jail

[Miss-Delectable]

Disabled man suing Benton County over treatment while in jail | The News Tribune - Northwest | Seattle-Tacoma News, Weather, Sports, Jobs, Homes and Cars | South Puget Sound's Destination

A deaf man who was jailed in Benton County in late 2005 and early 2006 is suing the county for allegedly failing to accommodate his needs under provisions of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Eastern Washington's U.S. District Court, says the county did not provide an interpreter during several court hearings, and that corrections officers refused to allow the man to use a phone designed for deaf people and cut his calls short when he did use the teletypewriter, or TTY phone.

The lawsuit also alleges that jail personnel wouldn't turn on the jail television's caption for the man.

William Michael Kral, who was jailed between Dec. 29, 2005 and June 27, 2006, as well as from Sept. 26 to Sept. 27 2006, is seeking unspecified damages.

Kral was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol in June 2006 and ordered to spend 365 days in jail with 95 suspended and was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine. He also received a 365-day jail sentence with 355 suspended for second-degree driving with a suspended license and a $101 fine for having an open container in his vehicle.

Kral, 30, now lives in King County.

He is being represented by Lonnie Davis of the nonprofit Disabilities Law Project in Seattle. Davis said his client is seeking a monetary settlement, but couldn't provide an figure.

According to a response filed by the Benton County Prosecutor's office, the county denies Kral's claims and, in several paragraphs, says jail personnel did allow Kral to use a TTY when Kral said his requests were denied.

"Our view of the case indicates the claims are without merit," said Sarah Perry, a senior deputy prosecutor with the Benton County Prosecutor's office.

"We deny that," she said of Kral's claim that he was not allowed to use an interpreter during hearings. "He did have the interpreter in court."

According to the Benton County jail's 2006 phone policy, which included use of the TTY, inmates in the general population were allowed unrestricted use of the inmate phone system. However, abuse of the phone system could lead to restrictions.

Davis said Kral has documentation that details the denials of his request to use the TTY.

 

[Dixie]

Although he didn't get accommodations while in jail - he never should have been drinking and driving in the first place. Nuff said.

 

[mightymike72]

Deaf man sueing benton county over treatment in jail

Dui conviction on this case has been overturned and dismissed because of violation of speedy trial rights for lack of qualified interprenter, civil lawsuit still pending us court of appeals 9th circuit.
Wm. Kral

 

[Babyblue]

Dui conviction on this case has been overturned and dismissed because of violation of speedy trial rights for lack of qualified interprenter, civil lawsuit still pending us court of appeals 9th circuit.
Wm. Kral

Glad to hear that. Doesn't matter what this guy did. He has a right to a qualified interpretor.

 

[PowerON]

Although he didn't get accommodations while in jail - he never should have been drinking and driving in the first place. Nuff said.

No, every jailer need, at least, one call to let anyone know he/she is okay without think they're dead.

 

[warpedpink]

Although he didn't get accommodations while in jail - he never should have been drinking and driving in the first place. Nuff said.

He deserved what every other person in jail got. And that includes access to entertainment on television. It's all about equality.

 

[mightymike72]

Judge tosses DUI conviction for deaf man

Judge tosses DUI conviction for deaf man

Judge tosses DUI conviction for deaf man - Mid-Columbia News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

By Michelle Dupler, Tri-City Herald

A local attorney is heralding Thursday's dismissal of a five-year-old DUI conviction in Benton County District Court as a victory for deaf people.

William M. Kral, 33, of Snoqualmie, who is deaf, was arrested in December 2005 in Benton County on suspicion of DUI and driving with a suspended license, said attorney Moe Spencer of Kennewick.

But when Kral was arraigned, no sign language interpreter was available in the courtroom. When he signed a paper waiving his constitutional right to a speedy trial, the interpreter who explained the document to him was unqualified, Spencer said.

Kral was convicted and served a nine-month sentence that included three months in an alcohol treatment program. He paid more than $4,600 in fines.

In the next five years, Kral went through appeals and several court-appointed attorneys whom he claims ignored or mishandled his case or had to step aside because of conflicts.

Then in August, Kral won his argument that his constitutional rights had been violated because of the lack of a qualified sign language interpreter. Judge Robert Swisher ordered the case back to District Court to be dismissed, and the conviction overturned.

The end of what Kral described as a "very long battle" came Thursday when District Court Judge Dan Kathren officially threw out Kral's conviction and ordered the $4,600 in fines returned to him.

"I certainly agree Kral is entitled to money he paid as a result of a conviction that is no longer a conviction," Kathren said.

But despite the crux of the case being the court's lack of a qualified interpreter, Spencer had to bring in a professional sign language interpreter Thursday because there still isn't one employed by the court.

Kral told the Herald through interpreter Shelly Hansen that the person who interpreted for him on the day he signed the speedy trial waiver told him he was agreeing to a continuance -- basically a temporary delay of his hearing.

"I never found out I had signed a waiver for speedy trial until two weeks or a month later," he said. "About the same time, I found out the interpreter did not have formal training or a (sign language) certification. The way he translated, I thought it was clear it was a continuance. I didn't have a reason to doubt."

The interpreter in the courtroom that day was actually a Spanish-language interpreter who knew a little sign language, according to Spencer's appeal brief.

The brief said Kral asked several times for a court-certified interpreter because he wanted someone who could accurately explain complicated legal issues. Kral also told the court that the interpreters used were signing incorrectly or that he didn't understand them.

The brief said Kral's then-attorney also communicated with him using handwritten notes, but Kral couldn't understand what his attorney was writing.

Swisher agreed that Kral's agreeing to waive his right to a speedy trial was "unintelligent and not knowing," Spencer said.

Kral lost his hearing when he became ill with spinal meningitis when he was 9 months old. Spencer's brief said research shows people who become deaf before age 3 have difficulty with language and tend to have a median of a fourth-grade reading level, mostly because written English is based on translating symbols into sounds -- sounds they never have learned.

Kral said he lost his construction job in the Tri-Cities and his then-girlfriend because of the DUI conviction.

He now operates heavy equipment in the Seattle area, is married and has a 2-year-old son. But Kral said the years since his conviction have been "very tough."

"I just kept on fighting," he said. "This issue is not about money and not about me personally. It's about making sure deaf people get equal access and to try to raise that awareness."


Read more: Judge tosses DUI conviction for deaf man - Mid-Columbia News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news