Court Rules Police Department Violated the Deaf Woman's Rights

[Miss-Delectable]

Court Rules Police Department Violated the Deaf Woman's Rights

The 13th Court of Appeals ruled a deaf woman's rights were violated because no interpreter was provided.

The woman was stopped, arrested, and convicted for driving under the influence. But she did not speak English or understand American Sign Language and was never provided an interpreter.

On Thursday, the court overturned her conviction saying her rights were violated.

Valley lawyers say this is a landmark decision, because several people are treated the same way.

Civil rights lawyer Abner Burnett says the ruling should change things.

"This shows that this court - the appellate court for this area - is willing to look at a situation and weigh the circumstances in their totality and make a determination about whether or not a deaf or hard of hearing person has gotten a fair shake," says Burnett.

Valley interpreters are proposing a video relay service in the Valley, so a deaf person could call the service and speak real time to doctors, lawyers, or anyone else they needed to talk too.

No word on when that service may become available.

 

[pek1]

Gosh! Talk about a rookie videographer (camera man)! Juggling the camera, cutting off the hands, cutting off the face. When signing, the full face and all hands need to be shown, not just part. I noticed that in the past, a hearing person would never have this occur to them, but, evidentally it's okay to do that to the deaf.

The interpreter talking on camera needed to keep signing and not stop, regardless. Just proper protocol needs to be followed.

 

[RedheadGrrl]

I didnt see where it come from.. Theres the link said McAllen but where's McAllen?

Tsk!! Alot of police depts didn't care or ignore it. It isnt right. Tsk! Oh well.

 

[Foxrac]

I didnt see where it come from.. Theres the link said McAllen but where's McAllen?

Tsk!! Alot of police depts didn't care or ignore it. It isnt right. Tsk! Oh well.

It's in Texas, near to US-Mexico border.

 

[Reba]

Was it a Deaf man or woman? The article says woman, and the video shows a man. The newscasters said woman and man.

Either way, did the person drive drunk? What was the result of the blood test?

If the person couldn't communicate clearly with a live terp, how would using VRS make the situation better?

What language mode did this person use to pass the written driving test?

Just asking because the article and video leave out a lot of information.

 

[Reba]

Gosh! Talk about a rookie videographer (camera man)! Juggling the camera, cutting off the hands, cutting off the face. When signing, the full face and all hands need to be shown, not just part. I noticed that in the past, a hearing person would never have this occur to them, but, evidentally it's okay to do that to the deaf.

The interpreter talking on camera needed to keep signing and not stop, regardless. Just proper protocol needs to be followed.

The video was taken to illustrate the news story; it wasn't taken as an aid to communication for Deaf people. That's the harsh reality.

 

[Foxrac]

The video was taken to illustrate the news story; it wasn't taken as an aid to communication for Deaf people. That's the harsh reality.

When it's in McAllen, she is probably latino that use spanish sign language or something like that.

 

[RedheadGrrl]

It's in Texas, near to US-Mexico border.

Thank you Pacman.