[blindlaw] High Volume Criminal Calendars
AZNOR99 at aol.com
AZNOR99 at aol.com
Wed Mar 24 12:04:08 UTC 2010
Hello,
I prosecuted criminal cases for Cook County, the second largest unified
court system in the country, for several years. On average, I handled
between 50-75 cases a day, ranging from bond hearings to jury or bench trials. I
originally started out as a law clerk myself, so I didn't feel I had the
leverage to be able to ask for a reader. So instead, I'd spend the
afternoon and evening before the court call looking at the files and creating notes
in Braille or on my laptop for the next day. I requested that the local
police departments email me police reports, and I was then able to read them
with Jaws; the administrative assistant who pulled backgrounds for
defendants knew that she'd have to spend a few minutes with me in my court room
reading their content to me so I could add that to my notes during the call.
The nature of high volume litigation is such that the case files generally
consist of a criminal complaint (which is mostly standard except for the
crime and the basis for the crime), a police report, a criminal background,
and perhaps pictures if it was a violent crime. Thus I could generally get
the gist of a case down to a paragraph or so of notes.
Later, I began using the KNFB Reader to give me instant access to
information. This was fantastic because I could independently read a supplemental
report or a case that was transferred to me from another courtroom without
having to find someone to read for me. And worst case scenario, as a law
clerk, I had access to a supervising attorney who could read if necessary.
But when I became the supervising attorney (which happens pretty much 10
minutes after you're hired permanently in Cook County), I requested law
clerks for my court call, and they doubled as readers when necessary. It worked
pretty well.
Feel free to email me off list if you have additional questions.
Regards,
Ronza
In a message dated 3/24/2010 7:39:16 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
cathrynisfinally at verizon.net writes:
Hi Aser,
I have a full-time reader/sighted assistant since I work regularly with
visual formats and hand written materials in federal government. I
requested a reasonable accommodation. My employer contracts with a temp
agency and assigns a number of hours/week according to needs of blind
employees in this division. The approximately $70,000/year contract to do
this is more expensive than hiring a part or even full-time person at a low
grade level for the job of working with several blind employees. My
employer chose the contract route.
It sounds like you are in county government, so there are differences.
Sorry, that is what I have to offer.
Cathryn Bonnette
-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Aser Tolentino
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 6:03 AM
To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: [blindlaw] High Volume Criminal Calendars
Hi Everybody,
Has anyone on list ever handled a high volume criminal calendar, say in
excess of 50 cases for the morning? I really want to be a prosecutor. I
have
discovered that I (technically right now a secretary since interns don't
have access) can pull scanned versions of the files themselves from the
office's archives to use to prepare for hearings and the like. That and
trial, though I've never done a real one, I think I can deal with. The big
obstacle at the moment is calendars. Standing in for a number of attorneys,
one prosecutor might have 50 or more cases on the table for the morning
calendar, dealing with everything from first appearances to judgment and
sentencing. The big issue is that I can't read the notes on the docket
sheets. Has anyone ever been in my position or something like it?
I'm thinking a reader might be the only possible solution. We would have to
go over cases when the calendar was prepared and he or she would have to be
there with me if questions arose during court. I'm not sure how viable
that
is.
Assuming all of that is viable. Does anyone have any advice on how to bring
up the need for a reader with a potential employer? Is that a cost they
incur for hiring me? It has been suggested, in a speculative way, that I
might have better luck getting such support at a large metro office rather
than out in the smaller counties where I've worked. Any thoughts on that?
I like to think of myself as being able to come up with solutions to such
issues, but I'm aware of potential limitations. Any guidance you could
provide would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Aser
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