[blindlaw] accessibility issues in public criminal defense

[Graham Hardy]

Hi Derek,

I've never had success with anything to recognise handwritten text, so no advice there, I'm afraid. I personally enjoy tremendous success with ABBYY FineReader, which converts text into formats such as Word and Excel, and even has advanced features (that might require sighted assistance) involving breaking the page up into predetermined areas of interest, such as forms that are always printed a certain way. Unfortunately I've never been successful with any of those cameras that sit over the top, which is a shame. You can often make out enough of a document to get the jist of it but, in a legal sense, clearly you're not in good shape if paragraph numbers aren't coming through properly. But the ScanSnap iX500 that I use, which scans something like 25 double-sided sheets a minute, is fairly small. If you have constraints involving electricity, I believe there are even wireless models with batteries. In fact, I understand you can use modern scanners over a wireless connection with an iPhone, and would likely be able to get documents imported into knfbReader or even Seeing AI.

As for a dog in a courtroom, is there anything in particular that comes up? I've never had an issue


Graham Hardy | Lawyer  604-608-2043 | ghardy at harrisbrun.com 


HARRIS & BRUN LAW CORPORATION - Barristers & Solicitors
500 - 555 West Georgia  Vancouver  BC  V6B 1Z6
Phone: 604-683-2466   Fax: 604-683-4541   www.harrisbrun.com


This transmission is directed in confidence solely to the person named above, and may not otherwise be distributed, copied or disclosed. The contents of this transmission may also be subject to solicitor-client privilege and all rights to that privilege are expressly claimed and not waived. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by telephone (collect if necessary) at (604) 683-2466, and destroy the original transmission without making a copy.
Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Derek Dittmar via BlindLaw
Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2018 4:27 PM
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Cc: Derek Dittmar
Subject: [blindlaw] accessibility issues in public criminal defense

Good evening,
I’m interning this summer at the county Public Defender’s office under
the third year practice rule.  Since I want to go into criminal
defense advocacy, I was excited for the opportunity.  However, since
our county has not transitioned to paperless records, all of the
information about my clients is in print.  I’ve tried scanning with
Seeing AI, but there are too many errors for me to feel comfortable
relying entirely on the tech.
Is there anyone on the list that would be willing to share their
methods for accessing client information in a timely manner?  While my
internship ends in about seven weeks, I’d like to work in this county,
and would appreciate any assistance.  Specifically I’m curious about
preferred technology for court (I currently use laptop with JAWS);
methods for accessing both typed and handwritten records;
recommendations on courtroom advocacy with a service animal; and
anything else anyone would be able to share.
If a phone call is easier, I'd be happy to make myself available at
your convenience.
Thank you, and I appreciate this list.  Great to not feel so alone!
Derek J. Dittmar
Campbell Law School
Raleigh, North Carolina
derekjdittmar at gmail.com

_______________________________________________
BlindLaw mailing list
BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/ghardy%40harrisbrun.com