Miss-Delectable
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Justice is heard and served by deaf attorney in Fort Pierce : St. Lucie County : TCPalm
Assistant Public Defender Stanley Glenn is one of the only attorneys on the Treasure Coast who doesn't need to hear what the judge, prosecutor or witnesses are saying in court to know what's going on.
Most of what Glenn "hears" is through lip reading, which accounts for about 70 percent of his interactions with people, he said. It includes not only the words a person is using, but body language and other visual clues. He only hears a small fraction of anything said to him with the aid of hearing devices on his ears.
Glenn was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss at a young age that rendered him almost completely deaf. But the disability has not hampered his rise at the public defender's office. In the past six years, he's gone from handling misdemeanor cases to becoming a supervisor and overseeing major felonies.
"At this point in time you don't even notice the hearing impairment. It's like it's non-existent," said Public Defender Diamond Litty. "His is a true success story in every way ... this job is tough in and of itself, but to be able to do so well at it with this impairment gives him respect among the troops."
For trials, he has a real-time computer transcription program that allows him to catch anything he might miss in a busy courtroom, the same kind of stenography system he first encountered at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. that enabled him to participate in law school discussions. A stenographer types what is being said and he sees it in real time on his computer.
"My clients realize I do things differently, but they realize I've tried it and it works," he said.
Assistant State Attorney Daryl Isenhower, who has faced off against Glenn several times in court, said Glenn's hearing loss doesn't seem to diminish his role as a defense attorney. "It's not really a factor in any of his work, either with a jury or in our hearings," he said.
While attending college at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Va., Glenn began seriously thinking about law school and eventually attended Catholic, where he graduated in 2000. He briefly worked for a civil law firm in Boca Raton before getting a job with the public defender's office in Fort Pierce.
When he first started, Litty said she had concerns about how defendants might react to having a nearly deaf attorney and whether Glenn might be setting himself up for complaints. Those worries haven't materialized, she said.
A combination of lip-reading, hearing and the transcription system allowed him to fully participate in trials and after two years in the misdemeanor division, he moved up to felony where he became a supervisor. Now Glenn is working on helping newer attorneys get on their feet and training to become death penalty certified, so he can handle the most difficult cases that come into his office.
"I love being in front of a jury and arguing a case," he said. "I believe strongly in what I do as a defense attorney."
Assistant Public Defender Stanley Glenn is one of the only attorneys on the Treasure Coast who doesn't need to hear what the judge, prosecutor or witnesses are saying in court to know what's going on.
Most of what Glenn "hears" is through lip reading, which accounts for about 70 percent of his interactions with people, he said. It includes not only the words a person is using, but body language and other visual clues. He only hears a small fraction of anything said to him with the aid of hearing devices on his ears.
Glenn was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss at a young age that rendered him almost completely deaf. But the disability has not hampered his rise at the public defender's office. In the past six years, he's gone from handling misdemeanor cases to becoming a supervisor and overseeing major felonies.
"At this point in time you don't even notice the hearing impairment. It's like it's non-existent," said Public Defender Diamond Litty. "His is a true success story in every way ... this job is tough in and of itself, but to be able to do so well at it with this impairment gives him respect among the troops."
For trials, he has a real-time computer transcription program that allows him to catch anything he might miss in a busy courtroom, the same kind of stenography system he first encountered at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. that enabled him to participate in law school discussions. A stenographer types what is being said and he sees it in real time on his computer.
"My clients realize I do things differently, but they realize I've tried it and it works," he said.
Assistant State Attorney Daryl Isenhower, who has faced off against Glenn several times in court, said Glenn's hearing loss doesn't seem to diminish his role as a defense attorney. "It's not really a factor in any of his work, either with a jury or in our hearings," he said.
While attending college at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Va., Glenn began seriously thinking about law school and eventually attended Catholic, where he graduated in 2000. He briefly worked for a civil law firm in Boca Raton before getting a job with the public defender's office in Fort Pierce.
When he first started, Litty said she had concerns about how defendants might react to having a nearly deaf attorney and whether Glenn might be setting himself up for complaints. Those worries haven't materialized, she said.
A combination of lip-reading, hearing and the transcription system allowed him to fully participate in trials and after two years in the misdemeanor division, he moved up to felony where he became a supervisor. Now Glenn is working on helping newer attorneys get on their feet and training to become death penalty certified, so he can handle the most difficult cases that come into his office.
"I love being in front of a jury and arguing a case," he said. "I believe strongly in what I do as a defense attorney."
