Archive for November, 2004
Roadshow: Disability Discrimination Act – are you complying?
Posted by Alison in Uncategorized on November 17, 2004
On 1 October 2004 the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 changed significantly. The changes affect shops, cafes, restaurants, libraries, doctors’ surgeries, banks, pubs, in fact any organisation that provides a service to the public. The aim of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is to improve access to services and The Equality Commission (NI) has organised a series of Roadshows and Seminars to give guidance to businesses and disabled people about what the changes will mean.
Information Roadshows are taking place in shopping centres throughout Northern Ireland as follows:
18 November 2004 Erneside, Enniskillen
25 November 2004 Ards
1 December 2004 Craigavon, Rushmere
9 December 2004 Europa Bus Station
16 December 2004 Forestside, Belfast
13 January 2005 Newry, The Quays
27 January 2005 Foyleside, Derry
Voluntary and community organisations can also avail of the Equality Commission’s training seminars, which highlight the steps groups can take to comply with the Act, looking not just at physical features of buildings, but also at how services are delivered.
To find out more please write to or visit Equality House, 7-9 Shaftesbury Square, Belfast, BT2 7DP, email: information@equalityni.org, tel: 028 9050 0600 or textphone: 028 9050-0589.
Technology in the courtrooms
BBCi is running an article on ‘US courtrooms go hi-tech’.
The article is well worth a read, and raises the technology prospects, which could become commonplace within the court system, and hopefully this would include the UK.
With such technology available, accessibilty would move from the margins further into the mainstream. For example, the article quotes:
The court stenographer arguably has the most arduous job, tracking every word that is spoken during the course of a trial.
Until recently it took days to produce an official printed copy of the record. Now it takes seconds.
Mollie Nichols, assistant director of Courtroom 21, explains: “The court record manager will actually speak into this mask and will be saying every word that the lawyer, the witness and the judge is saying.
“The recording actually goes into a computer and a typewritten transcript is produced in real time.”
As a precaution, the judge uses a hand-held pad that can control every device in the room. The judge can immediately stop anyone from seeing something they should not.
Such technology could be easily accessed and used by Deaf professionals and indeed other Deaf users of the court. With technology in place, it would be standard and thus dispel the need in some instances to request adjustments in advance.
Public Service Interpreting & Translation Conference
Posted by Alison in Interpreting on November 9, 2004
A Public Service Interpreting and Translation Conference will be held at the Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh on 19-21 March 2005. The theme of the conference is ‘Breaking Down the Barriers: A Team Effort’.
The conference is said to be of interest to:
? Policy-makers with an interest in social inclusion and equality of access for people from minority and ethnic backgrounds
? People responsible for ensuring the effective delivery of services to multilingual / multi-cultural groups
? People working in public service sectors: legal system and immigration, health care, local government (social work, housing, education, environmental health?), cross-cultural survey work, etc.
? Organisations in the voluntary and not-for-profit sector offering support to minority language groups (including Deaf Communities)
? Public Service Interpreters & Translators (practitioners, trainees and students)
? Sign Language/spoken language Interpreters (practitioners, trainees and students)
? Trainers of public service & sign language interpreters & translators
? Researchers in the fields of interpreting, translating, linguistics, cross-cultural communication and anthropology
Further details available to download: Flyer, Registration Information, and an Application Form
Employment Tribunals & Access for Deaf People
In October 2004, the Employment Tribunal has produced a Guidance for tribunal users who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The Guidance can also be downloaded from Employment Tribunals Online website, spefically here.
Firstly, the title of the document implies that the interpreter is there for Deaf people only, and does not acknowledge the two way process of interpreting, and the fact that an interpreter is for the benefit of both parties.
Secondly, a rather worrying statement from the document:
Many deaf people have a friend or relative who interprets for them. If you want them to translate for you, the chairman must be satisfied that your friend or relative can accurately translate what you are saying and what is being said to you.
Whilst this paragraph recognises that there may be some fault in using a member of the family or a friend, unless the Chair is familiar with
a) translation / interpreting issues;
b) is able to operate within two languages and is familiar with two cultures;
how are they best placed to judge this situation? In addition, will they be aware that the knowledge of a language does not qualify one to interpret, and possibly introduce bias to the proceedings? Will they be familiar with language and interpreting structures?
My First Mini-Pupillage
Posted by Alison in Deaf Lawyers on November 4, 2004
I have just finished my second day of a week long mini-pupilage with a very reputable firm of barristers in Cardiff. I’m doing OK in Chambers and not too badly whilst walking along a busy main street between Chambers and Crown Court but the courtrooms themselves, however, are a complete nightmare!!
The crown courts in Cardiff are about 150+ years old. They are made of beautiful Portland stone and have (what I presume is) oak clad walls. The ceilings are very high. The whole place resembles a museum, which is quite ironic really.
In the main foyer where, the graduate and under-graduate crims congregate, sounds to me a lot like a radio that is off-station, just low-level background hum.
The courtroom itself is much the same, until the judge arrives. I sit right behind counsel (looking at their backs, so the sound waves are moving away from me). If I hear 20% of what they have said then I think myself lucky.
I can hear the defendant very well as s/he is right behind me (but all any of them have said so far is ‘guilty’, ‘thank you’ and one ‘f**k off’). Add to this ushers waltzing around for apparently no reason, barristers back and forth dropping files on desks, seat-backs flapping shut and solicitor’s whispering to one another then the whole place starts to resemble a zoo.
The place calms down in time for sentencing and as the judge is facing me then I am able, by a combination of hearing and lip-reading, keep track of what he is saying. This afternoon was a bit annoying as we had a very large clerk (think Eddie Murphy in the Klumps) right in front of a small judge (think Stan Laurel’s physique at Danny DeVito’s height) = total acoustic eclipse! But never mind, the reporter from the regional newspaper was there so at least I can read all about it.
I know that way, way in the future I am more likely to be talking about fraudulent accounting, VAT evasion or computer hacking than the s18/s20 OAPA & the usual possession with intent, but I do seriously have to wonder whether I could faithfully represent the best interests of my client in the middle of this riot.
So back again tomorrow, unless I call in sick. I wonder if they would believe me if I said I had AFS (auditory frustration syndrome).
* AFS, if you didn’t already know, has few physical symptoms, other than raised blood pressure; the suffer will complain of feeling cheesed-off, of having just made the biggest mistake of his/her life; may also be accompanied by repeated dog-walking, chain smoking and/or excessive lager consumption.
New Zealand Police and Deaf Man
There’s an article on the New Zealand News website called Police defend move to send in the dogs.
Essentially, a Deaf man aimed a replica Glock pistol at two neighbours, who then called the police. The police arrived, and after bellowing at him to come out of his flat, which he didn’t do, they sent in two police dogs who then bit him so severely he had to stay in hospital and required plastic surgery.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Oxnam said yesterday that armed offender squad members knew of the man’s disability and said a local police officer had been able to raise the man three weeks earlier by simply knocking on the door.
This is preposterous. Perhaps the man opened the door simply because he was standing by the window and saw them at the front door, or perhaps he was about to leave the flat, or saw a silhouette outline in the door? This sort of presumption is unacceptable – find out the facts instead of presuming.
… officers had tried everything to get the man to come out, including knocking down the front door and standing in the hallway of the small flat yelling at him with a loud hailer.
That’s a really effective way of attracting a Deaf man’s attention!
Even the neighbours thought the treatment was unnecessary:
Neighbours, upset at the treatment of the man, said he would not have heard police demands to come out.
Where are the apologies? Deaf awareness training? I hope the Deaf man sues the police!
Employ Us!
Posted by Rob in Profession Access on November 3, 2004
We have noticed that quite a few law firms and other professional legal bodies have been reading our website and Blawg. We are really pleased to see this happening, but have one thing to ask you – why don’t you employ us?
At present, we have:
1 Deaf LPC Graduate searching for a training contract
1 Deaf Professional who wants to complete the BVC and become a barrister
1 Deaf Professional with a great deal of legal experience who wants to do a PhD
For more candidates, please read the About Us section.
Email us on contact at deaflawyers.org.uk with a job description or title you’d like and we’ll forward to the relevant Deaf Lawyers UK member.
GSD Reception
Posted by Alison in Deaf Lawyers on November 2, 2004
The Group for Solicitors with Disabilities is having a meeting plus reception on the 15 December. If you are a Deaf or hard of hearing lawyer or law student, we would like to see you there. In addition, we are also hoping to meet outside this. To attend this reception, you will need an invite, therefore please contact us or GSD direct.