[blindLaw] Moving around the courtroom

[Lauren Bishop]

Hello,
I did trial advocacy and law school as well as a nonjury trial. What I would do is get oriented to the court room before the proceedings began. For my trials, I would generally stand at council table and give whatever testimony I needed to give. I learned the route from cat consult table to the witness stand and to the bench if I needed to approach a witness, publish and exhibit, or show something to the judge. I have tried moving around the courtroom, both ways, with and without a cane. With a cane, I felt a lot less clumsy, and like I actually stood tall and could walk confidently. Without a cane, I felt slow.  I generally would bring a folding cane as a back up because I use a guide dog. I think I just held the cane approached witness last time, and folded it in half to place it under the table. If you have a guide dog, you could probably train it to target the different areas in the court room . I never tried this because my guide at the time was older and giving stubborn by the day. 
Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 2, 2024, at 9:17 PM, Cecilia Martinez via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi. Does anyone have any advice for moving around the courtroom during trials? How to approach witnesses, find the podium, move around the room as you’re speaking, and do this successfully? Do you use your cane? If so, what do you do with it when you’re at the podium? What about if you choose not to use a podium when giving your opening statement for example? Where do you put your cane? Do you have it in your hand? Any advice would be great.
> 
> Thank you
> 
> 
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