[blindlaw] Legal provisions/ reasonable accommodations to enable blind lawyers to thrive

Rahul Bajaj rahul.bajaj1038 at gmail.com
Mon Jun 11 17:15:34 UTC 2018


Hi Everyone,

I am exploring the possibility of filing a lawsuit to ensure greater
access to case records/courtrooms  for blind lawyers here in India.
This being so, learning about the best practices that are adopted in
the US will help me a great deal in this endeavour. In this regard,
I'd be grateful if someone could help me understand how blind lawyers
operate in the American legal system in the following specific areas:

A. What is the primary means by which case records are made accessible
to blind lawyers in the US. More specifically, if a given courtroom
operates entirely on paper, then are opposing counsel/ court staff
required to ensure that whatever  filings that are made are served to
a blind lawyer in soft copy, or is this entirely the responsibility of
the blind lawyer concerned? Would requiring opposing counsel to make
all their filings in soft copy/ scan their hard copy submissions be
considered a reasonable accommodation or an undue burden? What if this
obligation were cast on the concerned court and not the opposite
lawyer?
B. Are there any policies that courts in the US have adopted to
accommodate law clerks/ legal interns who are blind, or is assistance
provided to them on an ad-hoc basis?
C. How are blind lawyers able to identify a particular courtroom in a
court complex and distinguish one courtroom from the other?
D. Are blind lawyers allowed to use screen reading technology in
courtrooms, say during oral argument? If there is a prohibition on the
use of technology in courtrooms, has an exception been carved out to
make this permissible?
E. Are there any other provisions that exist in American law for the
benefit of blind lawyers/ litigants?


Your inputs would be invaluable as I work on this application. Feel
free to write me off-list if that is more convenient. Please answer as
much portion of the above questions as you are able to, if you have
time constraints. Thank you.

Best,
Rahul




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