TIPS: Technical Information Perspectives and Solutions (TIPS) – June 2008 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN THE COURTS Copyright © 2008 Background & Copyright of TIPS The DBTAC: Southeast ADA Center (Southeast DBTAC) publishes a variety of TIPS intended to provide accurate information on issues and concerns related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for information specialists, advocates, business owners, government agencies, managers, and the general public. The examples used in these TIPS are based on actual questions received by the Southeast DBTAC, and are designed to strengthen the capacity of those who provide information and technical assistance to help others achieve effective compliance with the ADA. This TIPS reflects the best professional judgment of the Southeast DBTAC staff and its regional affiliate network and has not been reviewed for accuracy by federal enforcement agencies. If you have questions or suggestions about the TIPS, email the Southeast DBTAC at sedbtacproject@law.syr.edu. Copyright Permission For copyright permission, email the Southeast DBTAC at sedbtacproject@law.syr.edu. Organizations may reproduce this fact sheet for non-commercial use provided they acknowledge the Southeast DBTAC as the copyright owner and include the following credit statement: Reprinted from the DBTAC: Southeast ADA Resource Center website at www.sedbtac.org. Situation: A woman who lives in Savannah, Georgia needs to attend court six hours away in North Carolina.  She has borderline severe / profound deafness (i.e., she cannot hear sounds that are below 85 to 90 decibels with corrective aids), and has severe physical limitations.  Her doctor has said that travel is not advisable at this time because of her frail physical condition.  Her husband asked the North Carolina court to allow her to attend court via a CART (Computer-Aided Real-time Transcription/Translation) system in which she would read what was being said and would answer orally via telephone. The North Carolina court agreed to permit her to follow the proceedings using this modification, but declined to allow her to respond or testify stating the system is too expensive. She believes that the court is violating her rights as a person with disabilities. Question: Is this woman a qualified person with a disability? Yes. The woman is severely or profoundly deaf with corrective aids. She also is described as having “severe physical limitations.” However, the fact that she has a “frail physical condition” making it inadvisable to travel “at this time” would not necessarily qualify her as a person with a disability, because “at this time” implies that her frail condition may be temporary and be expected to improve. Question: Can a request for reasonable modification be made by someone other than the individual with disability? Yes. There is no requirement prohibiting someone acting on the behalf of a person with disability to request a reasonable modification. The requirement is only that the public entity be made aware that an individual is requesting a reasonable modification for his/her disability. Question: Is the North Carolina court covered by the ADA? Title II of the ADA applies to state and local courts; Sections 501 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, cover federal courts. In this instance, we don’t know if the North Carolina court is a state court or one of the Federal District Courts. In either case, public entities, including courts, are required to provide effective communication for qualified individuals with disabilities. Question: Is CART considered an auxiliary aid or service for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing? Yes. For individuals with hearing impairments, auxiliary aids and services include, but are not limited to, qualified interpreters, note takers, assistive listening devices, assistive listening systems, and transcription services such as computer aided real-time transcription (CART). Can a court refuse to provide CART or another auxiliary aid or service? Public entities must provide the auxiliary aid requested by an individual, unless the public entity can demonstrate that another effective means of communication exists, or that providing the requested aid would result in a fundamental alteration in the program or in undue financial and administrative burdens. In this instance, where the public entity is the North Carolina judicial system, it is unlikely that providing the services of a CART recorder would be deemed an “undue financial or administrative burden,” particularly in light of the fact that court reporters (who provide real-time transcription) are a routine part of every judicial process. Similarly, if the Georgia woman will be using the CART system, which utilizes electronic text to follow the court proceedings in real-time, it is difficult to understand why it would be an undue financial burden to allow her to respond or testify using the system. One possible modification that the North Carolina court could make would be to seek a Georgia court’s cooperation in duly swearing in the Georgia woman and allowing the woman to answer questions or participate by means of a telephone and/or through a video hook-up. DISCLAIMER: The Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) – Southeast ADA Center (Southeast DBTAC) is authorized by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) to provide information, materials, and technical assistance to individuals and entities that are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) under Grant No. H133A060094. However, you should be aware that NIDRR is not responsible for enforcement of the ADA. For more information or assistance, please contact the Southeast DBTAC via its web site at www.sedbtac.org or by calling 1-800-949-4232 (Voice/TTY). The information, materials, and/or technical assistance are intended solely as informal guidance, and are neither a determination of your legal rights or responsibilities under the Act, nor binding on any agency with enforcement responsibility under the ADA. The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University (BBI) does not warrant the accuracy of any information contained herein. Any links to non-BBI information are provided as a courtesy. They are not intended to nor do they constitute an endorsement by the BBI of the linked materials. DBTAC: Southeast ADA Center (Southeast DBTAC) 1419 Mayson Street, Atlanta, GA 30324 Phone: (404) 541-9001 (v/tty) or (800) 949-4232 (v/tty) Fax: (404) 385-0641 Email: sedbtacproject@syr.law.edu Web: www.sedbtac.org Funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education #H133A060094