[blindlaw] High Volume Criminal Calendars

Wed Mar 24 12:04:08 UTC 2010

Hello,

I prosecuted criminal cases for Cook County, the second largest unified  
court system in the country, for several years.  On average, I handled  
between 50-75 cases a day, ranging from bond hearings to jury or bench  trials.  I 
originally started out as a law clerk myself, so I didn't feel I  had the 
leverage to be able to ask for a reader.  So instead, I'd spend the  
afternoon and evening before the court call looking at the files and creating  notes 
in Braille or on my laptop for the next day.  I requested that the  local 
police departments email me police reports, and I was then able to read  them 
with Jaws; the administrative assistant who pulled backgrounds for  
defendants knew that she'd have to spend a few minutes with me in my court room  
reading their content to me so I could add that to my notes during the  call.  
The nature of high volume litigation is such that the case files  generally 
consist of a criminal complaint (which is mostly standard except for  the 
crime and the basis for the crime), a police report, a criminal background,  
and perhaps pictures if it was a violent crime.  Thus I could generally get  
the gist of a case down to a paragraph or so of notes.

Later, I began using the KNFB Reader to give me instant access to  
information.  This was fantastic because I could independently read a  supplemental 
report or a case that was transferred to me from another courtroom  without 
having to find someone to read for me.  And worst case scenario, as  a law 
clerk, I had access to a supervising attorney who could read if  necessary.  
But when I became the supervising attorney (which happens  pretty much 10 
minutes after you're hired permanently in Cook County), I  requested law 
clerks for my court call, and they doubled as readers when  necessary.  It worked 
pretty well.

Feel free to email me off list if you have additional questions.

Regards,
Ronza

In a message dated 3/24/2010 7:39:16 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
cathrynisfinally at verizon.net writes:

Hi  Aser,

I have a full-time reader/sighted assistant since I work  regularly with
visual formats and hand written materials in federal  government.  I
requested a reasonable accommodation. My employer  contracts with a temp
agency and assigns a number of hours/week according  to needs of blind
employees in this division.  The approximately  $70,000/year contract to do
this is more expensive than hiring a part or  even full-time person at a low
grade level for the job of working with  several blind employees.  My
employer chose the contract route. 
It  sounds like you are in county government, so there are differences.
Sorry,  that is what I have to offer. 

Cathryn Bonnette

-----Original  Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org  [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Aser Tolentino
Sent:  Wednesday, March 24, 2010 6:03 AM
To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing  List
Subject: [blindlaw] High Volume Criminal Calendars

Hi  Everybody,
Has anyone on list ever handled a high volume criminal calendar,  say in
excess of 50 cases for the morning? I really want to be a  prosecutor. I 
have
discovered that I (technically right now a secretary  since interns don't
have access) can pull scanned versions of the files  themselves from the
office's archives to use to prepare for hearings and  the like. That and
trial, though I've never done a real one, I think I can  deal with. The big
obstacle at the moment is calendars. Standing in for a  number of attorneys,
one prosecutor might have 50 or more cases on the  table for the morning
calendar, dealing with everything from first  appearances to judgment and
sentencing. The big issue is that I can't read  the notes on the docket
sheets. Has anyone ever been in my position or  something like it?
I'm thinking a reader might be the only possible  solution. We would have to
go over cases when the calendar was prepared and  he or she would have to be
there with me if questions arose during  court.  I'm not sure how viable 
that
is.
Assuming all of that is  viable. Does anyone have any advice on how to bring
up the need for a  reader with a potential employer? Is that a cost they
incur for hiring me?  It has been suggested, in a speculative way, that I
might have better luck  getting such support at a large metro office rather
than out in the smaller  counties where I've worked. Any thoughts on that?
I like to think of myself  as being able to come up with solutions to such
issues, but I'm aware of  potential limitations. Any guidance you could
provide would be  appreciated.

Thanks,
Aser
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