POLICY
OF THE RHODE
ORDER
1. General Policy
It is the general policy of the unified judiciary that all
courts shall provide reasonable accommodations to persons with communications
disabilities.
2. Sign Language Interpreters and Other Auxiliary Aids and Services
Each court shall provide at state expense, sign language interpreters or
other appropriate auxiliary aids and services to participants in court
proceedings who are deaf, hearing impaired, or have other communications
disabilities. Each court shall give primary consideration to a participant's
choice of auxiliary aid or service.
"Primary consideration" means that the courts will honor the
choice, unless it can be shown that another equally effective means of
communication is available, or that the use of the means chosen would result in
a fundamental alteration in the nature of the court proceedings or in an undue
financial or administrative burden.
"Auxiliary aids and services" include qualified interpreters,
assistive listening devices, or systems or other effective means of making
aurally delivered materials available to individuals with hearing impairments.
"Participants" in court proceedings include parties, attorneys,
and witnesses. The services called for under this policy are not required to be
provided to spectators, although a trial justice or judge may elect to do so in
situations where it is determined to be appropriate, such as providing an
interpreter to the deaf spouse of a criminal defendant so that the spouse may
follow the course of the trial.
"Court proceedings" include trials, hearings, ceremonies, or
other public programs or activities conducted by a court.
3. Jurors
The determination of whether a prospective juror with a
communications disability is legally qualified to serve as a juror is an issue
to be determined by the trial justice pursuant to statutory, constitutional and
common law principles. That determination is not governed by this policy.
However, when an individual with a communications disability is found to be
qualified to serve as a juror, a sign language interpreter or other appropriate
auxiliary aid or service should be provided under these guidelines.
4. Procedures
Each court shall identify a specific officer or
individual(s) to serve as access coordinator from whom participants in court
proceedings may request auxiliary aids or services. The access coordinator must
be familiar with the judiciary's policy of providing reasonable accommodations
to persons with communications disabilities, to ensure that the policy is
properly implemented. The access coordinator must have a ready working knowledge
of the types of auxiliary aids and services available to serve the needs of
disabled persons and of the local sources from which auxiliary aids and services
may be procured. Personnel in each court are to be instructed as to the
judiciary's policy and the identity and location of the access coordinators in
their particular court. Each court shall appropriately publicize the identity
and location of its access coordinator through courthouse signs, bulletin board
announcements, pamphlets, notices to be placed on court summonses, subpoenas,
and other official documents issued to parties, witnesses, and jurors.
Courts shall establish specific procedures through which requests for
auxiliary aids services are to be submitted, such as requiring that they be
submitted to the access coordinator in writing or that they be submitted in
advance of the court proceeding involved. Courts shall also establish procedures
through which persons dissatisfied with the court's proposed provision of
auxiliary aids and services may seek review or reconsideration. Any such
procedures must be appropriately publicized.
5. Reporting
In all situations in which services are provided under this
policy, courts are to file reports with the office of the Court
6. Effective date
Entered
as an Order of this Court this 1st day of October 1997.
By Order,
__________________________
Clerk