Courts and Legal Proceedings

View from back of the empty supreme court
Court room #1, entrance with blue hearing loop signs on each side of the door
Service counter hearing loop at Colorado Springs Municipal Court

U.S. Supreme Court, hearing loop, FM, and infrared systems

photo credit by Phil Roeder – Flickr: Supreme Court of the United States, CC BY 2.0

Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Denver, Colorado. Blue hearing loop signs are on each side of the doors.

Municipal Court, Colorado Springs. Service counter hearing loop.

Although most of us will have only infrequent experiences in our courts, hearing accurately in courtrooms, service counters, and other legal settings is critical to our fully understanding all that transpires in the legal process. And jury duty, which is both a civic duty and an honor, requires full access for all who are called.

Under the ADA, ALL courtrooms should have an assistive listening system. That’s so anyone – attorneys, clerks, court reporters, defendants, judges, jury members, plaintiffs, staff, witnesses, CASA volunteers, and anyone observing in the ‘spectator seating’ area – can have full access to clear sound. 

Disabilities in the courtroom

  • Individuals with hearing loss, as well as those with other disabilities such as autism, low vision, auditory processing disorders, ADHD, and cerebral palsy, find assistive listening systems invaluable, as they provide clarity and minimize background noise.
  • Some individuals may request CART (live captions by a certified provider) instead of or in addition to an assistive listening system. 
  • In addition, sometimes sign language interpreters (such as ASL) and live captions (CART) professionals use assistive listening so they can clearly hear every word before translating for others.

Every person with hearing loss has the right to serve on jury duty. Juries are a jury of peers, which includes people with disabilities.

Possible Assistive Listening System Locations

Infrared systems and, FM/RF systems, and hearing loops can be found:

  • Conference rooms for legal consultation
  • Courtrooms, including jury boxes
  • Jury rooms
  • Visitor and information service desks
Sheriff security window with hearing loop sign, no firearms, about hearing loop
Sheriff security window with signs: hearing loop and info about hearing loop

Resources

Court Resources 

  • Language Style Guide. Disability Language Style Guide, National Center on Disability and Journalism (webpage). “Refer to a disability only when it’s relevant to the story.” 
  • Video. Effective Communications During Traffic Stops with Deaf or Hard of Hearing Drivers (video, 3:14)
  • National Center for State Courts (website)
  • Design guide. US Courts Design Guide. March 2021. Judicial Conference of the United States (412 pages, pdf)
  • ADA and statutory requirements. Jurors with Disabilities. A discussion of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other statutory requirements requiring accommodations for the disabled, and practical information to be compliant. 2018, Center for Jury Studies (28 pages, pdf)
  • Facility Standards. The P100. Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service establishes design standards and criteria for new buildings, repairs and alterations, modernizations, and lease construction facilities that the Government intends to own or has an option to purchase, as well as work in historic structures for the Public Buildings Service (PBS) of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). This document contains both performance-based standards and prescriptive requirements to be used in the programming, design, and documentation of GSA buildings. Includes acoustics standards. July 2021. (316 pages, pdf). Design Standards for US Court Facilities
    • Jury assembly room. ABAAS also determines requirements for listening devices.
    • Grand jury suite. Refer to ABAAS for the number of listening devices.

Center for Hearing Access for facility staff