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http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/85987.asp
Illinois and the U.S. Department of Justice are nearing a deal on whether courts should provide real-time transcripts for the deaf, according to a letter written by former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh.
At the request of a Chatham attorney who has been deaf since he was 2 years old, Thornburgh wrote U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to say state trial and appellate courts in Illinois might soon offer the services.
Without a system called Communication Access Realtime Translation to beam transcripts of oral arguments to personal laptops or projection screens, Alan Post, 58, has had trouble understanding testimony and cross-examinations.Post formerly practiced in Kansas. When he requested the same services there, they were furnished to him in both the state and federal courts.
He made a similar request when he began a law practice in Illinois, but judges here have told him sign language interpreters are adequate.
Some advocates say that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, state and federal courts are obligated to offer CART services to the deaf upon request.
"People understand obvious disabilities," Post said. "They don't understand hearing loss or mental illness because they can't see it."
In August 2001, the 9th District U.S. Appellate Court in Washington state determined that real-time reporting is a reasonable accommodation for deaf and hard-of-hearing people under the ADA.
CART providers charge anywhere from $65 to $150 per hour. Their reports differ from standard court reporters in that the wording captures emotions and environmental sounds as well as dialogue.
Pat Graves, president of Caption First, a CART and captioning company based in Lombard, said CART providers serve as interpreters to the hearing impaired.
"A court reporter, their master is the record - they have to get a verbatim record," Graves said. "A CART provider serves as the ears for any of the people involved in the court system."
In the letter written by Thornburgh, who served as attorney general from 1988 to 1991, "Post contacted James A. Lewis, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Central District of Illinois at Springfield in March 2005 about his concerns. Mr. Lewis framed a proposed decree, with the cooperation of Attorney General (Lisa) Madigan, last summer, in 2005."
Lewis, when contacted, couldn't confirm if there was a complaint filed regarding the non-compliance to offer real-time services. He said it's standard that, until any type of agreement is finalized within the U.S. Justice Department, nothing is made public.
The letter specifies, however, that minor details in the agreement are being worked out.
A spokesman for Madigan couldn't confirm if there is a pending deal regarding the use of CART in Illinois courtrooms, and calls to Justice Department officials were not returned.
Michael Schwartz, disability law professor at Syracuse University, is deaf and has been a long-time advocate of CART services.
He said the ADA "imposes an obligation on state courts to provide effective communication access," which should include CART.
"Alan's fighting the good fight," Schwartz said. "CART enables everybody to see the language on the screen, so it's not just a deaf issue."
The National Court Reporters Association has about 20,000 reporter members, about 8,000 of whom can provide real-time reporting.
"Certainly the demand seems to be there," said Marshall Jorpeland, director of communications for the court reporters association. "People who provide CART services anecdotally indicate that they're quite busy."
Illinois and the U.S. Department of Justice are nearing a deal on whether courts should provide real-time transcripts for the deaf, according to a letter written by former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh.
At the request of a Chatham attorney who has been deaf since he was 2 years old, Thornburgh wrote U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to say state trial and appellate courts in Illinois might soon offer the services.
Without a system called Communication Access Realtime Translation to beam transcripts of oral arguments to personal laptops or projection screens, Alan Post, 58, has had trouble understanding testimony and cross-examinations.Post formerly practiced in Kansas. When he requested the same services there, they were furnished to him in both the state and federal courts.
He made a similar request when he began a law practice in Illinois, but judges here have told him sign language interpreters are adequate.
Some advocates say that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, state and federal courts are obligated to offer CART services to the deaf upon request.
"People understand obvious disabilities," Post said. "They don't understand hearing loss or mental illness because they can't see it."
In August 2001, the 9th District U.S. Appellate Court in Washington state determined that real-time reporting is a reasonable accommodation for deaf and hard-of-hearing people under the ADA.
CART providers charge anywhere from $65 to $150 per hour. Their reports differ from standard court reporters in that the wording captures emotions and environmental sounds as well as dialogue.
Pat Graves, president of Caption First, a CART and captioning company based in Lombard, said CART providers serve as interpreters to the hearing impaired.
"A court reporter, their master is the record - they have to get a verbatim record," Graves said. "A CART provider serves as the ears for any of the people involved in the court system."
In the letter written by Thornburgh, who served as attorney general from 1988 to 1991, "Post contacted James A. Lewis, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Central District of Illinois at Springfield in March 2005 about his concerns. Mr. Lewis framed a proposed decree, with the cooperation of Attorney General (Lisa) Madigan, last summer, in 2005."
Lewis, when contacted, couldn't confirm if there was a complaint filed regarding the non-compliance to offer real-time services. He said it's standard that, until any type of agreement is finalized within the U.S. Justice Department, nothing is made public.
The letter specifies, however, that minor details in the agreement are being worked out.
A spokesman for Madigan couldn't confirm if there is a pending deal regarding the use of CART in Illinois courtrooms, and calls to Justice Department officials were not returned.
Michael Schwartz, disability law professor at Syracuse University, is deaf and has been a long-time advocate of CART services.
He said the ADA "imposes an obligation on state courts to provide effective communication access," which should include CART.
"Alan's fighting the good fight," Schwartz said. "CART enables everybody to see the language on the screen, so it's not just a deaf issue."
The National Court Reporters Association has about 20,000 reporter members, about 8,000 of whom can provide real-time reporting.
"Certainly the demand seems to be there," said Marshall Jorpeland, director of communications for the court reporters association. "People who provide CART services anecdotally indicate that they're quite busy."