Hearing Man Seeks Legal Help for Deaf Brother
Sunday October 22, 2006
Bullet655 writes on the forum:
My deaf brother...away from his home because of court injunctions. Both my brother and his wife have about a 3rd to 4th grade education level and neither one of them can spell well enough to use the TTY deaf telephone system fluently...[they have a hearing daughter and son]..now presently living near me his brother in Missouri but plans on returning to his Sanford, Florida residence in December 2006 after the court injunctions expire on Nov. 16th 2006...During his initial arrest my brother tells me there was no interpreter present and the police used the daughter as the interpreter. She is usually the one filing the complaint and calling the police so this puts him a helpless situation during the time of his arrest...My brother needs some kind of legal representation in his Sanford, Fl. area..I have read up on some laws and if it is a desperate situation and involves weapons or personal injury the police officer can make an arrest without an interpreter. My brother’s charges were domestic violence no weapons but his daughter claims to have been struck or touched by him... But on the other hand I found that it was inappropriate to ask a family member to interpret in a domestic situation because of emotional ties that may interfere with the ability to interpret impartially.
My deaf brother...away from his home because of court injunctions. Both my brother and his wife have about a 3rd to 4th grade education level and neither one of them can spell well enough to use the TTY deaf telephone system fluently...[they have a hearing daughter and son]..now presently living near me his brother in Missouri but plans on returning to his Sanford, Florida residence in December 2006 after the court injunctions expire on Nov. 16th 2006...During his initial arrest my brother tells me there was no interpreter present and the police used the daughter as the interpreter. She is usually the one filing the complaint and calling the police so this puts him a helpless situation during the time of his arrest...My brother needs some kind of legal representation in his Sanford, Fl. area..I have read up on some laws and if it is a desperate situation and involves weapons or personal injury the police officer can make an arrest without an interpreter. My brother’s charges were domestic violence no weapons but his daughter claims to have been struck or touched by him... But on the other hand I found that it was inappropriate to ask a family member to interpret in a domestic situation because of emotional ties that may interfere with the ability to interpret impartially.
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Bullet655 had originally e-mailed me with his need for help. I was unable to refer Bullet655 to any law services in that area, despite checking a variety of deaf law websites. What concerns me is the fact that the police allegedly used a family member as an interpreter...how often does this happen in legal/police situations?
Comments
I am not absolutely sure but I believe it is actually illegal to use a family member as an interpreter without the consent of the interpretee.
Why don’t he contact Florida’s deaf NPO? I don’t know what is their name but for an example - there’s GLAD in Los Angeles at www.gladinc.org. They may be able to refer him to an eqviliant agency in Florida.
Dear Jamie: this type of situation happens often. Some important things to remember:
1. Doctors don’t work on family members. Police should never, ever use them to interpret or investigate - not fair for either police or investigation!
2. Deaf people MUST have an ASL interpreter for any police interviews. This is ADA Law. However, it is rarely enforced unless the Deaf person themselves has stood up for themselves and requested an interpreter. We train all our Deaf clients to learn to ask for an interpreter.
3. That being said - is the same daughter who made the charge, the one interpreting? If so that is entirely unfair.
I did find two places in florida which might be useful - the Deaf Service Center and the League of the Hard of Hearing.
Domestic violence definition has expanded so far and wide that almost anything even sneezing, farting, or any other innocent annoyances can be used to prosecute domestic violence cases.
I see this is a mad world.
The best place for help is www.ejfi.org
for resources and cases.
I see several issues here. First, the daughter with the 5 children. It’s not luck out in the real world that a person must depend on. Mostly likely, this woman doesn’t have sufficient education or skills to gain employment to take care of herself and her children. Second, for your brother’s sake, learn sign language fluently. I’m always amazed with family members that have a Deaf member of the family but don’t bother to ever learn sign language. For example, if one person speaks French and another person speaks German, but live in the same household no matter how long, the communication is going to be very limited. Same with spoken English and ASL. If you don’t know sign language, you probably don’t know what your brother has to say or be able to communicate with him effectively. Many hearing family members solve that by convincing themselves with certainty that they completely understood their Deaf family member by telling themselves anything they want to think and by misinterpreting signs to mean whatever they want it to mean. With the mother seeming to understand that her daughter is very ill-prepared to deal in the real world, there is no household issue. You can get an interpreter referral from any Deaf Association. You as the brother can also request that the court procedure be dismissed if that’s the case. The daughter interpreting can be considered heresay. Heresay is illegal to include in any court matter. I doubt if the Deaf man really hit her. Most likely, it was the sounds an angry Deaf person can make that sometimes will frighten some hearing persons. I know a lot of Deaf people that don’t have a clear idea of the hearing world’s legal system. It’s best not to rely on court interpreters, but bring your own interpreter. Most of the time, the Deaf can’t expect pity, coddling or preferential treatment. Maybe some condescending prejudice and injustice, though. Does the mother understand these procedures? A complaint in the household couldn’t be made without her. Instead of all that going on in the home, your brother should get his daughter into some type of training program and get her out on her own. The daughter could sign an agreement that a room in the house is hers to rent. By law, a spouse or ex-spouse can’t evict their minor children from a property. Being the grandfather, he could go to landlord/tenant court and get his daughter evicted and placed in a facility where she can get help on how to raise her children on her own. But if her mother actually wants her and her children there, then the father, if he doesn’t like it, should just move out and leave the situation alone.
This person needs to have a qualified interpreter. For the police not to have had an interpreter for this person is not legal. Get help for him immediately. Contact the National Association for the Deaf. They will help you with advice.
I live in Florida and I have some suggestions: United Way-211 Statewide agency that refers people to services in their area, the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities 1-800-342-0823 or www.advocacycenter.org, PAIR-Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights, a local deaf center(Recommended for interpreter), a lawyer who specials in ADA Law, United Way has a website for Florida that can help you also. Good luck.
1,I think he has a good case for the division of civil rights to assist him. Here in New Jersey, they are strong advocates for the Deaf/HOH communities.
2. In Florida they have a program whereby a Deaf/HOH person can receive a free CapTel phone. If your brother has some form of speech he can talk on the phone—the hearing person talks to a communication assistant who uses speech recognition and types the messages which the person can read on the screen of the phone.
3. They have a very active Hearing Loss Association in Florida which could be of some help also.