6.0 Recommendations
Although it is imperative that the rights of defendants in criminal trials are not adversely affected, to deny blind and deaf people the right that comes with their citizenship is a blatant disregard to their human rights. By automatically excluding all people with these disabilities from jury service, the law is feeding into the negative stereotypes that are associated with blind and deaf people. Rather than operating under a blanket exclusion, the Jury Act 1995 (Qld) should be amended permit all persons who have decision-making capacity to serve as jurors, regardless of their perceived disabilities which reduces the risk of the courts subjecting themselves to unauthorised discrimination. In his dissenting judgment, …show more content…
The legislation should be amended to place a positive duty of the courts to provide reasonable accommodations to assist the person with a disability to reach the full extent of their capacity. The Act should state that any potential juror should inform the Sheriff of their disability who is obligated to ensure that all reasonable accommodations are made to assist the …show more content…
The court could also impose an additional requirement that interpreters sign a sworn document stating that they did not participate outside their role in the jury room.
6.1.2 Communication Assistants
The ‘Computer-aided real-time transcripts’ (CART) is a system which can convert the words spoken in the trial to computer monitors in seconds. This system is already implemented in the Queensland courts and is used in lengthy and complex trials. This method of communication can be used as an alternative to interpreters as the deaf juror can read the words spoken in the original environment which still preserves its context. This technology can also be used in jury rooms where the words of the other jurors can be transcribed by a court stenograph for the benefit of a deaf juror.
Assistive hearing devices such as infra-red or loop systems can also be used to assist those jurors who suffer with a hearing impairment but are not completely deaf. In relation to blind jurors, the judge can order that all documents be read aloud in the court room when presented as evidence and if the jury wishes to rely on them in their deliberations, to be read aloud once