[blindlaw] Recommendations for Court

Thu May 3 00:47:04 UTC 2018

Dear Aser & Others:

I know absolutely nothing about the directional beacons and have never used one.

Over the years, I have done regular business at three different courthouses in Tarrant County, Texas. I know them like the back of my hand and have little trouble navigating them without a beacon.

There's no technology quite like that of good ol' human familiarity. Particularly, I can get around the Tim Curry Justice Center as well as I get aroung my own home. And this is a nine floor courthouse with 32 courtrooms, the clerks offices and District Attorney's offices.

Never have needed a beacon and, at age 62, never will.

Daniel McBride

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aser Tolentino via BlindLaw
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2018 4:40 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List
Cc: Aser Tolentino
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Recommendations for Court

Those are all more than fair points. I bring it up because like Jim I think it will be something that will have to be addressed at some point, likely as a hybrid technology/structural accommodation. If we’re working from the standpoint that tactile/Braille signage isn’t universally available, then we definitely have more important things to be talking about. But as this is a developing area of technology, where a government agency might randomly get a pot of money to suddenly field one of these systems for some other purpose like visitor information or tracking, we’d like indoor navigation to be on their radar as an important use case.

Respectfully,
Aser Tolentino, Esq.

> On May 2, 2018, at 14:08, Jim McCarthy via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> My comments largely mirror Tai's though I have a bit less experience
> actually using Beacons. It also is my understanding that there is some
> considerable cost to maintain, replacing batteries, replacing beacons
> themselves at some times and the like. This is not a reason necessarily to
> oppose the concept but if installed, maintenance is important. It also is
> unclear to me whether beacons will prove a long-term option. I do believe
> that as in door navigation solutions develop, best practice accessibility
> will be to install them in government buildings. I am not sure how nimble
> programs will be in this area though. Maryland has a long-standing program
> we call Access-Maryland and I have begun overseeing this program. It is an
> old program that provides physical access to Maryland state facilities and
> clearly, the expectation is physical access, accessible bathrooms/stalls,
> elevators, ramps and compliant signage.    In my opinion, in door
> mapping/GPS or a GPS like environment should be considered accessibility as
> one would know locations in a building, court rooms, the cafeteria and so
> forth. People who were blind or could not read the standard map would still
> have access to the information, but even if that becomes the case, I am not
> sure that the program here will be able to address the topic without
> modifications. 
> Jim McCarthy
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tai Tomasi
> via BlindLaw
> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2018 4:01 PM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List
> Cc: Tai Tomasi
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Recommendations for Court
> 
> Aser,
> 
> Are you talking about Apple iBeacons or another system? Can you educate me
> regarding the cost of each navigation beacon? 
> 
> As for practicality, I am not sure such indoor beacons would help, at least
> not in the courthouses I frequent. I have experience with such navigation
> beacons in museums, and they were only slightly helpful due to the close
> proximity of the beacons. I found that multiple beacons were communicating
> with my phone at the same time, letting me know they were close by. The
> problem was that the notification wasn't enough to identify the actual
> location of the beacon. In my experience, beacons are not directional,
> meaning that neither your phone nor the beacon seemed able to provide
> accurate information about which way to turn. In other words, they are not
> like GPS systems that can give you directional information. In my local
> courthouses, the courtrooms are so close together that multiple beacons
> would be sending notifications to my phone, meaning it would still be
> necessary to ask for assistance or look for tactile wall signage. Although I
> am an early adopter of technology and use it wherever possible, it isn't
> always the best substitute for simply asking or looking for tactile signage.
> I find the ability to read raised standard print very helpful in these
> situations. Just my first thoughts on the subject.
> 
> Ms. Tai Tomasi, J.D.
> Pronouns: she/her/hers
> Staff Attorney
> 
> 
> 
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Aser Tolentino via
> BlindLaw
> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2018 2:50 PM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Aser Tolentino <agtolentino at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Recommendations for Court
> 
> Good afternoon,
> 
> Do people think deployment of indoor navigation beacons in courthouses would
> improve your ability to independently find the right courtroom with less
> fuss?
> 
> Respectfully,
> Aser Tolentino, Esq.
> 
>> On May 2, 2018, at 12:23, Howard Adelsberg via BlindLaw
> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Dear all, I have been asked by the NYS Office of Court Administration 
>> to seek input from attorneys that are either blind or have vision 
>> impairment for recommendations on how the Court may  help or  assist 
>> us  in all aspects. Even if you are not admitted to NY, your input 
>> would be appreciated .-Howard M. Adelsberg 
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