[blindlaw] Do blind people have a right to visual memory?

[Luis Mendez]

Good morning:

An interesting question indeed, but one with a relatively straight forward
answer. Every person may well enjoy a protected right to memory, a right no
different than the general right to be free from  unwarranted physical
intrusion by either the government or persons acting under color of law.
That doesn't create an automatic right to record every conceivable
transaction whether that recording is visual or audio.  We all have to rely
on our  often less than perfect recollection of day-to-day life, whether we
experience life visually, auditorily  or both. Being blind doesn't or
shouldn't  create an expectation of more favorable treatment, unless  the
exception is a necessary aspect of a reasonable accommodation. I.E. being
allowed to retain access to a laptop and/or braille notetaker  while in
court. 


Luis


-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Daniel
McBride via BlindLaw
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2018 10:23 PM
To: 'Blind Law Mailing List' <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Daniel McBride <dlmlaw at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Do blind people have a right to visual memory?

Sai:

With all due respect, I am not really sure what your question entails and,
given my best impression of your question, I am believing I might have more
legitimate issues to worry about.

There are those of us who are blind. There are those who are not. I
certainly understand the concepts underlying the ADA and a disabled persons
right to a fair, and equal, chance at life and what it has to offer.
However, within this context, at some point I have to face the fact that I
am blind and live with its limitations.

Let's say I seek, for example, my constitutional right (?) to be a starting
pitcher in major league baseball so I get the chance to experience what
sighted persons experience, or to be a starting quarterback in the NFL so I
can experience what sighted persons get to experience. Or, I can simply
accept the fact that I am blind and realize that a blind person will never
pitch in Major League Baseball nor be a starting quarterback in the NFL.

I'm sure I navigate places daily that I am unaware are potentially
hazardous. In the painted bicycle lane example, if a sighted bicyclist sees
a blind person on the shared sidewalk with his/her cane, or guide dog and
the cyclist is unwilling to yield to the blind person, then I am more
concerned about the cyclists' ability to satisfy my judgment against him/her
for any injuries they might cause me.

If I understand your question correctly, I believe it falls into the
category of being careful what we ask for because we just might get it.

And my comment is intended respectfully. Just my two cents worth. And I
might be misunderstanding the intent of your question as well.

Daniel McBride
Fort Worth

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sai via
BlindLaw
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2018 2:01 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List
Cc: Sai
Subject: [blindlaw] Do blind people have a right to visual memory?

Consider any of various situations where it is illegal to secretly record
video. Customs, courts, etc etc.

A sighted person going through those situations would have a visual memory
of what they saw. A blind person would not; they wouldn't have access to the
same information that the sighted person does (albeit limited by memory).

So, could one (winnably) argue that the blind person has a Constitutional
*right* to covert video recording, i.e. the right to see and remember what
they saw (albeit through the intermediary of a recording), at least for
personal or testimonial use?


I started thinking about this recently during O&M training. I recorded the
training session out of curiosity to see what it was like.

I didn't learn until after recording that training session that a street I
walk very frequently has a painted-on bike lane on part of the sidewalk.

I had absolutely no idea it was there, despite having walked that exact path
for months and easily recognizing various parts of it by cane. The
painted-on bike lane, and the division between it and the pedestrian part of
the sidewalk, just have almost zero perceptible tactile cues, let alone
something to indicate "don't walk here".

As a result, in that video of my training session, I was blithely walking
along the curb side of the sidewalk, smack in the middle of a bike lane. It
came as quite a shock to me when I reviewed the video.

I've had multiple other experiences where visual memory was critical, like
where TSA violated my rights and I needed evidence of who did what. Had I
not been recording, I wouldn't have that evidence.


So it makes me think: what about establishing a blind person's right to
perceive, and recall, the same visual information that a sighted person
would have access to in the same situation? (Or likewise for d/Deaf and
audio, or psychological issues and memory in general.)

Has anyone ever tried this?

Sincerely,
Sai

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