By Kevin B. Young
1/16/2013
"ADA, State and Federal Guidelines Concerning Law Enforcement as
pertaining to People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing"
As set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, with
additional amendments made in 2008, the definition of a disabled
individual has three major conditions:
* Physical or mental impairment that severely inhibits a life
activity
* A documented or record of said impairment
* Classified as having an impairment by an acknowledgeable
authority
Needless to say, hard of hearing or deaf individuals -- with respect
to the individuals, are lawfully considered to have a disability. As
such, ADA standards mandate additional effort from law enforcement
to safeguard constitutional rights when dealing with deaf or hard of
hearing individuals. While there has been numerous articles produced
by the ADA, this paper will analyze an article released in January
2006 titled, "Communicating with People Who Are Deaf or Hard of
Hearing" and correlated federal and state litigation relevant to
standard police procedure concerning provisions of the ADA.
The focal point of this article highlights what law enforcement
agencies are mandated or lawfully compelled to do when dealing with
a deaf or hard of hearing suspect. As stated in the article, law
enforcement agencies must provide reasonable accommodation for
effective communication when in a situation that safely allows for
it. This includes provisions of hearing aids and interpreters if
requested by the case in point. Officers in Victoria County, Texas
were found to be criminally liable as per violation of Sec. 12132
and Sec. 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the
Rehabilitation Act- respectively.
That State Court found officers to have intentionally discriminated
against the plaintiff, whom was stopped in a traffic situation and
given multiple sobriety tests. Now, correlating with the ADA's
guidelines for communicating with deaf and hard of hearing, the
officers failed to acknowledge the suspects disability and also
failed to provide reasonable accommodations for effective
communication. Instead, the officer treated the suspect as an
individual without the hearing disability, using a series of
standard sobriety tests strictly constructed for non-hearing
disabled individuals.
A federal appeals court of an unknown district, later upheld this
decision and solidified the jurisprudence of mandated accommodations
for communicating with deaf and hard of hearing. In review of the
ADA's guidelines for communication, law enforcement are given a
series of hypothetical situations constructed to help officers
determine when an interpreter or accommodation is needed. In traffic
cases, reasonable suspicion allows for officers to stop any vehicle.
If the driver or concerning individual(s) in the vehicle are deaf or
hard of hearing, the officer can take out a note/pen and convey his
words through text.
For exigent situations such as responding to a domestic violence
call, if officers are faced with violent or any felonious and
threatening elements, officers have the right to forgo ADA protocol
and act according to standard police procedures. In Tucker V
Tennessee, the State court found the petitioners -- whom are deaf,
to have no right to lawsuit against officers who arrested them
without first providing communication aids and services. The State
Court ruled that because of the severity of the situation-
responding to potential violence, and also actual violence, officers
had the right to forgo ADA protocol.
The totality of the ADA strives to inhibit the potential for
discrimination against Americans with disabilities. The
U.S. Department of Justice has provided guidelines for
effective communication between law enforcement officers and deaf or
hard of hearing individuals.
References:
Communicating with People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: ADA Guide
for Law Enforcement Officers, January 2006. U.S. Department of
Justice, Civil Rights Division; Disability Rights Section. Retrieved
From: http://www.ada.gov/lawenfcomm.pdf
Farber, J, Bernard. (2009). Police Interactions with Deaf Persons:
Civil Liability Law Section. AELE Monthly Law Journal, March
Edition, 3rd Issue, Pages 101-109.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) As Amended by the
Amendments Act of 2008. Retrieved From: http://www.ada.gov/pubs/adastatute08.htm#12132
Sample sentence:
You can learn American Sign Language (ASL) online at American Sign Language University ™
ASL resources by Lifeprint.com © Dr. William Vicars
