Accessing the Court

This post was first published in 2020

City Hall

Welcome back to Silent City!

Today, I went to New City Hall, a place I have been to multiple times. Upon going to the square, I remembered when my law class took us to the city court that is found beside the City Hall. We attended several cases. My favorites were the criminal cases, one of which was a second degree murder and the other was a robbery. However, I could hear neither the lawyers nor the accused on the stand from my spot in the gallery. All courtrooms are equipped with a sound system, so that the people in the gallery and the jury can hear what is going on. Yet what I could hear was inconsistent, making it difficult for me to understand.

After conducting some research online, I found out that other people experienced this as well, realizing the importance of the issue of accessibility.

You see, people who have disabilities seek to fit in. They want to be a part of society, including the legal proceedings that happen within the city courts because they too understand the importance of Case Law. A decision a judge makes in one case, sets a precedence for another similar to the first. Without the proper accommodation for the disabled, they lose out and could even feel neglected, so it is important that the courts make accessibility to the courts their top priority.

People who experience deafness, or are hard of hearing have to rely on their other senses in order for their brains to understand what is happening around them. One of the senses that they use the most is their sight. They are visual learners, which is why they use sign language and read lips. They can then perhaps understand when a person speaks and be able to communicate with them, especially if their hearing is severe enough to prevent them from learning how to speak. With that in mind, it is important that the courts accommodate them, even if they are just in the audience.

According to a report made by the Court Disabilities Committee back in 2016, there have been some accommodations for persons who are deaf. However, they have been limited to those who participate as a jury member, not someone of society who attends the court proceedings.

That being said, there is hope. According to The Advocate’s Society’s website, it states that Ontario Courthouses plan to be fully accessible by 2025, and has listed the accommodations that people who have other disabilities can expect when they enter an Ontario court.

I wish we did not have to wait, because five years is five years too long in my opinion. We have already spent fourteen years since the release of the report in 2006. However, I am glad something is being done to accommodate people like myself, because I know there are places in the world where that opportunity does not exist.