Settlement requires
courts to provide assistance
for the hearing impaired

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

The state Judiciary will implement a policy to provide listening devices and interpreters for hearing impaired people who go to court, under an agreement signed with the U.S. Justice Department.

The settlement announced this week resolved a complaint filed by a deaf man who alleged that the state courts violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. No sign language interpreter was provided for the man when he had a 1992 court hearing on a speeding ticket, according to a release from the U.S. Justice Department.

Judiciary spokeswoman Marsha Kitagawa said policies and procedures to provide services for the deaf and other disabled persons were implemented by the courts in 1995. "The settlement does not require action beyond what we were doing. It sets forth a specific procedure. It reinforces our commitment to comply with ADA requirements."

The complainant said the deaf man had asked the courts for an interpreter four months before his appearance but, when none was provided, his wife was forced to take time off from work to serve as his interpreter during his trial.

Kitagawa said: "We acknowledge the 1992 event helped Hawaii to better understand how to prevent such miscommunications from occurring." In the particular case, "We had no record of his request. He was asked if we could postpone the hearing until an interpreter could be provided but he declined."

Judiciary affirmative action officer Susan Kitsu said there are 33 ADA coordinators in courts across the state. It is a job held by court personnel with other administrative responsibilities.

Kitsu described the effort made recently for a hearing impaired person who was summoned to jury duty on Maui. The person made a request for an exact English interpreter, one of the various types of sign language, different from the more common shorthand-style American sign language.

"There was no interpreter available on Maui, we had to get someone from Honolulu," said Kitsu. "We had the person wait until the next jury selection. We did provide an interpreter. The person was not chosen for the jury but it wasn't because of hearing impairment," she said.

Most court documents now inform handicapped people how to seek aid they may need, not only for physical access to buildings but also for access to court programs, Kitagawa said. A deaf person requiring an interpreter must give 10 days advance notice, "but we can be flexible, we make the attempts even with less time," she said.

Kitsu said there is no compilation available of the number of people who are provided special assistance for disabilities.

Besides interpreters using sign language in different languages, assistance for the deaf that is required includes assistive listening devices, real time translation and other auxiliary aids. The Justice Department said the settlement requires the court to enforce a comprehensive policy providing effective communication for witnesses, jurors and spectators who are deaf or hard of hearing. It requires the court to publicize the policy through newspaper notices.