[blindlaw] 18th annual mock trial

Ben Fulton bluezinfandel at hotmail.com
Sun Jul 5 20:27:55 UTC 2015


 
 
 
Hello
 
Hello all,
 
This is intended for the participants of the 18th annual mock trial at the NFB convention.  I sent this message originally as a reply to the posting of the NFB list serv: however, I've been notified that it is awaiting moderator approval, and I wanted to ensure that the information reaches the participants in time to be of use for the trial.
 
I am hoping that they are members of this mailing list as well.
 
One point I am hoping the city will make is that if Mr. Fred Eration was using a cane he would have been able to feel the edge of the ditch.  If he was using a guide dog that allowed him to suffer this fall, then it was a very poorly trained guide dog and the liability then lies with the trainer of that dog.  If he was using niether of these techniques, what alternative method was he using for determining whether it was safe to walk forward.  Personally, I would never put my weight on a foot unless I knew what it was resting on first.  To allow oneself to walk off a precipace is highly irresponsible.  I use a cane and would never walk off the edge of a cliff, or other dangerous pitfall.  I also go on wilderness hikes.  If I were to fall in a naturally occuring gorge or other depression, should I then sue parks and recreation for allowing such an obstacle to exist.  
I understand that Mr. Fred Eration was in a celebratory mood, and perhaps this contributed to his lack of awareness.  I am reminded of a time when I was exiting myself from a "watering hole" in a "celebratory mood" and when I collided with a nearby parking meter, my friend exclaimed. - "You didn't do that because you're blind; you did that because you're drunk" and I had to laugh because this was indeed an accurate assessment of the situation.  I did not turn around and sue anyone for my own negligance.
I would hold that it is the responsibility of any individual to ensure their own safety when walking forward. One time an elevator door opened onto an empty shaft and walking through that door would have led to a nasty fall of some 14 stories. However, I did not fall because when my cane failed to connect with any solid matter I refused to put my foot down.
I have never walked off the edge of anything, and if I did I would consider myself responsible.    
 
Addendum, - although the following was not included in my original email I would like to give the other side a fair chance.
 
Mr. Fred Eration's attorney might want to consider what special caricteristics of this particular obstacle would have made it more difficult to detect.  Perhaps there were some features of the landscape that may have indicated to a cane user that it was actually safe to walk into a ditch.
 
and now --- the original message

 
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2015 10:09:27 -0500
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] FW: 18th Annual  Mock Trial
From: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org

  
 
From: Scott C. LaBarre [ mailto:slabarre at labarrelaw.com] 
Subject: 18th Annual Mock Trial
 
 Hear yee, hear yee, heary, all rise and draw nye for the Honorable Court for the District of Wilks-Barre, Pennsylvania will soon be in session, the Most Esteemed and Honorable Charles S. Brown presiding!
 
 The National Association  of Blind Lawyers announces the 18th Annual Mock Trial which will be held Monday, July 6th in Junior Ballroom G, Level 1,   at 4:15 pm inside the beautiful Rosen Center Hotel as part of the 75th Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind.  
 
 This year’s trial features an all-star cast including Dr. Marc Maurer, Daniel F. Goldstein, Carla McQuillan, Kevan Worley, Haben Girma, Ray Wayne, Timothy Elder, Bennett Prows, Anthony Thomas, Parnell Diggs, and Scott LaBarre.  The year is 1940, the place Wilks-Barre, Pennsylvania.  In fact, it is the 16th of November, 1940, and Mr. Fred Eration emerges froma local watering hole in a most celebratory mood because a brand new organization has just been formed, the National Federation of the Blind.  He is walking down a city sidewalk and falls in a deep construction ditch where a sign warned of the drop off but no barrier had been erected.  He, of course, injures himself seriously and can no longer travel around independently.
 
 The Township of Wilks-Barre will say that they are not liable because any reasonable person, one who is sighted, would have seen the warning sign.  If that defense won’t work, the City argues that Fred Eration is automatically negligent because he was wandering around without a sighted helper, and even if that argument doesn’t work, blind individuals who are afflicted with a loss of vision must exercise extraordinary care while walking alone without sighted help.
 
 On Mr. Eration’s side, his expert witness, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek will argue that the blind have a right to live in the world and society must practice a policy of integrationism.  Society should expect that the blind will be about in the land using a dog, cane, or nothing at all to aid travel.  A reasonable city would take reasonable precautions to prevent injuries to its blind citizens and visitors.
 
 There will be three witnesses for each side and two lawyers representing each party.  The audience will serve as our jury.  Attendees of previous Mock Trials will tell you that they are both entertaining and  raise important issues.  This year’s trial travels back to the 1940’s and the legal climate that blind people faced at that time.  Join us next Monday.  Your jury fee is $5 and such funds will help the NABL carry on its good work.
 
 You now may be seated. 
 
 
 		 	   		  


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