[humanser] A question for the group
David R. Stayer
davidandloristayer at verizon.net
Sun Feb 22 15:56:20 UTC 2009
Shalom. Ai have not served and was praised when I indicated that I did not
want to be exceusec based on blindness. I was not selecged for one case
since a sighted person fell getting on a bus and I indicated that I have not
fallen.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Melissa Ann Riccobono" <melissa at riccobono.us>
To: "'Human Services Mailing List'" <humanser at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 6:07 PM
Subject: Re: [humanser] A question for the group
> It's an interesting question. I have not served myself. I was summoned
> last year and went to the court house. Right away someone tried to excuse
> me, but I said very forcefully that I did not want to be excused and they
> let me stay. I was called in as a potential jurrer in two cases. The
> first
> they did not pick me. The second I asked to be excused because it was
> going
> to be an extremely lengthy trial and I had a small child at home who I was
> the primary caregiver for during the day. The judge let me go, but I hope
> this had more to do with my family situation than my blindness. Perhaps
> it
> was a bit of both... Hard to say.
> I do have two blind friends who have served without at problem.
> Melissa
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Jeffrey Schwartz
> Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 6:29 PM
> To: 'Human Services Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [humanser] A question for the group
>
> I've been wondering about this for some time. I would like to serve on a
> jury. The one time I was summoned, much to my regret, I asked my
> ophthalmologist to write a letter stating that I am blind and should be
> excused. I am wondering if it is considered illegal to ban us. I can see
> why they would want to do this and I would not be offended. There can be
> visual evidence , a substantial amount in some cases. We could ask for an
> interpreter or such as the blind do, but this would be awkward and not
> precise. The attorneys each have a number of peremptory challenges. This
> allows them to dismiss someone without giving a reason. I suspect that
> one
> or the other would drop us in this way. Any experiences with this? Any
> of
> you served? What do you think about the issue?
> Jeff
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Marion & Martin
> Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 3:12 PM
> To: Human Services Mailing List
> Subject: A question for the group
>
> Shannon,
> I will refer back to my earlier message regarding whether or not
> schools
>
> require O&M instruction before being accepted for training. As to your
> other
>
> question about substituting one O&M instruction for another, perhaps an
> analogy from our mutual experience will help.
> I notice you have an MSW. I have an MS in Mental Health Counseling. In
> my undergraduate program I took a Research Methods class. I also took a
> Research Methods class in graduate school. now, I could have argued with
> the
>
> school that I had already had Research Methods and didn't need to take it
> again. Of course, my arguments would not have been accepted as the
> requirement to take their class is part of their program. Furthermore, the
> level, scope, and complexity of the class was very different in graduate
> school than it was in undergraduate classes. Can you understand how this
> applies to this issue?
>
> Fraternally,
> Marion
>
> We are both
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Shannon Cook" <SCook at sccb.sc.gov>
> To: "'Human Services Mailing List'" <humanser at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 9:10 AM
> Subject: Re: [humanser] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind's guide dog policy
> does not discriminate
>
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Isn't it true though, that in order to get a guide dog, an individual has
>> to have good mobility skills with a cane and have their application
>> signed
>
>> by an O & M instructor? If they have already gone through the mobility
>> portion of training and received a guide dog, why then would it be
>> necessary to go back to an unchosen method of travel? Why not just have
>> them not take that particular class?
>>
>> That is my 2 cents.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Shannon Cook, MSW
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Doug Lee
>> Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 11:20 PM
>> To: Human Services Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [humanser] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind's guide dog policy
>> does not discriminate
>>
>> That one could start quite a discussion of course... but from the
>> perspective of the case, these are not even the relevant questions.
>> The training center teaches classes, and one of those is a travel
>> class, and the travel class teaches cane skills, not dog skills. Just
>> as you don't go to a driving class to learn how to fly an airplane,
>> you don't go to a cane school to learn guide dog use. The school has
>> the right to choose what skills to teach, and the student has the
>> right to take what the school has to offer and the right not to. Of
>> course, the student also has the right to visit the school with cane
>> or dog at any time visitation is possible I'm sure. :)
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 09:27:10PM -0600, James Brown wrote:
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>> Can you share some knowledge with someone who has always been a cane
>>> user?
>>>
>>> Setting aside all the legalities, what does everyone think about this
>>> case? Any die hard cane users out there? How about you guide dog
>>> lovers,
>>> what do you think?
>>>
>>> Is there a significant difference between using a cane or dog? Is
>>> either
>>> one really that perfect?
>>>
>>> Are we trying to shape other blind people into our own image, all the
>>> while damaging the individuality of the blind population?
>>>
>>> whether it's a stick or a dog, aren't we all depending on something?
>>>
>>> Is this a kind of twisted psychology, or is it more about being
>>> practical?
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance,
>>> JB
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wilson,Joanne (by way of David
>>> Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>)" <JWilson at nfb.org>
>>> To: <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 4:24 PM
>>> Subject: [humanser] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind's guide dog policy
>>> does
>>> not discriminate
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----------
>>> From: Brammer, Robert [AG] [mailto:rbrammer at ag.state.ia.us]
>>> Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 1:53 PM
>>> To: Brammer, Robert [AG]
>>> Subject: Atty. Gen. release: Jury finds IA Dept.
>>> for Blind's guide dog policy does not discriminate
>>>
>>> To News Editors. From Bob Brammer (Iowa
>>> Attorney General's Office - 515-281-6699.)
>>> Please find a release pasted below. This will be
>>> posted soon at
>>> <http://www.iowaattorneygeneral.org/>www.IowaAttorneyGeneral.org
>>> . A jury entered a verdict Wednesday in this
>>> case in Polk County District Court.
>>> Best regards, Bram
>>>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
>>>
>>> For immediate release - Thursday, February 19, 2009.
>>> Contact Bob Brammer - 515-281-6699
>>>
>>> Jury finds Iowa Department for the Blind's
>>> Guide Dog Policy Does Not Discriminate
>>>
>>> Des Moines. A Polk County jury has
>>> rejected a Des Moines woman's claim that the
>>> State of Iowa Department for the Blind
>>> discriminated against her by refusing her request
>>> to use a guide dog while she attended the
>>> Department's orientation and adjustment training program.
>>>
>>> The Department for the Blind
>>> orientation and training program is a
>>> comprehensive program that utilizes a totally
>>> non-visual approach to teaching blindness
>>> skills. Students with partial vision are
>>> required to wear eyeshades to prevent reliance
>>> upon any visual cues during training. Department
>>> policies prohibit the use of any visual aids
>>> within the orientation and training program,
>>> including guide dogs. The Department has no
>>> objection to guide dogs in other situations.
>>>
>>> Stephanie Dohmen, who is legally
>>> blind, attended the program for several months
>>> beginning in September 2000 and sought to
>>> re-enter the program in June 2002 accompanied by her guide dog.
>>>
>>> Dohmen claimed in her lawsuit that
>>> the Department's policy violated her rights under
>>> the Iowa Civil Rights Act and under federal laws
>>> that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.
>>>
>>> After a six-day trial, the
>>> eight-person jury rejected Dohmen's claims in a verdict entered
>>> Wednesday.
>>>
>>>
>>> The Department for the Blind, which
>>> was represented in the trial by the Iowa
>>> Attorney General, argued that a totally
>>> non-visual approach - and training without
>>> assistance of a guide-dog or other visual aids -
>>> is the most effective approach for
>>> visually-impaired persons who are learning skills
>>> and techniques for dealing with blindness.
>>>
>>> The Department places no limitations
>>> upon the use of guide dogs in other settings,
>>> including in the Department for the Blind
>>> building in downtown Des Moines. For example,
>>> Karen Keninger, the Director of the Department,
>>> uses a guide dog, and the dog accompanied
>>> Keninger during her testimony at the trial.
>>>
>>> The orientation program typically
>>> includes about six months of full-time training
>>> in various problem-solving skills, such as
>>> cane-travel on public streets, using Braille,
>>> using computers, and dealing with many other situations.
>>>
>>> The Department for the Blind's
>>> orientation and adjustment program was
>>> established in 1959 and is considered by many to
>>> be one of the most effective in the country.
>>>
>>> During the trial, the State
>>> Department for the Blind presented testimony from
>>> Joanne Wilson and Frederic K. Schroeder, each a
>>> former Commissioner of the U.S. Rehabilitation
>>> Services Administration, which oversees programs
>>> for the blind around the country.
>>>
>>> "Iowa's orientation program
>>> profoundly changes lives," said Wilson, who also
>>> is Executive Director of the National Federation
>>> of the Blind. "It works. It's a cutting-edge
>>> program and a model for other states." Wilson is
>>> a Webster City native and ISU graduate who went
>>> through the Iowa Department for the Blind's orientation program herself.
>>>
>>> Schroeder said: "To me the central
>>> point is that individuals have a choice in the
>>> type of training they take. While programs must
>>> and should make reasonable accommodations, they
>>> cannot be required to alter the fundamentals of the program."
>>>
>>> - 30 -
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>> --
>> Doug Lee dgl at dlee.org http://www.dlee.org
>> SSB BART Group doug.lee at ssbbartgroup.com
>> http://www.ssbbartgroup.com
>> Freedom is not the ability to have what we want. Freedom is merely the
>> ability to seek it. To be free defines what we can do, not what we can
>> get.
>> (03/28/05)
>>
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