Deaf Judges

The one thing that really galls me is seeing a Deaf person tell other Deaf people that they cannot become judges claiming that hearing peers will prevent them from becoming one. Especially more galling would be to see those comments aimed at a Deaf young boy or girl. A Deaf person cannot become a judge? In a word I put lightly here....loads of baloney!

Preventing someone from becoming a judge just because he or she has a hearing loss has absolutely no ground to stand on for saying that. Legally so. Because technology today allows people with hearing loss the ability to communicate using a, for example, CART system during a court proceeding whether the deaf person is a judge or lawyer. And because of that communication technology we are seeing more deaf judges nowadays than we did 20 years ago....which was nil on the number of deaf judges.

There are fewer than 100 deaf attorneys nationwide, but 15 years ago there were fewer than 15 in the profession. Now there are three deaf judges in the U.S. The numbers are slowly growing, thanks to technological advances such as e-mail, text pagers, availability of interpreters and computer-assisted transcription services (CART) and workplace accommodations required under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But the fact remains that deaf lawyers are about as common as the albino buffalo. One reason is that deaf children don't see the law as a plausible career. A legal career requires strong communication skills, operates with a unique vocabulary and demands complex interaction but perhaps the biggest disadvantage is an outright bias against deaf people by legal employers.

That paragraph was written in early 2000. But according to the newsletter The Third Branch for the Wisconsin Judiciary printed in Winter of 2000 there are at least 4 legally deaf judges in the United States. As for lawyers, there are at least 170 deaf attorneys in the United States as of 2007. This includes Deaf attorneys as well.

Back in 2000 it was figured that there were at least 100 deaf attorneys in the United States. Now, the number of deaf attorneys has grown to 170 and will continue to grow. With that prospect in mind then certainly the outlook for the number of deaf judges will, too, grow as well.

With statistics in hand as proof lets hope we don't see more Deaf people tell younger Deaf people that they cannot become judges using the pathetic excuse that hearing peers will prevent them from attaining their dreams to become a judge someday.

UPDATE: Again proof begins with having Deaf/deaf/hoh lawyers. There are in fact a few deaf attorneys who own their own practices.

Our attorney members are employed by large private law firms, smaller firms, government bodies, corporations and public interest groups, and some are in solo practice. The diversity of attorneys on our boards is a benefit to all members of our community, especially our law students, who are able to learn about different areas of the law and practice environments from others with experience in those areas.

And that we have legally deaf judges in the United States. It would only be a matter of time until we see the first Deaf judge. Just as it is a matter of time that we will see Deaf dentists and doctors have their own private practices. In fact, Dr. Carolyn Stern, who is *Deaf* has her own private practice:

Dr. Carolyn Stern, a Brighton physician in private practice, drives a car with “DEAF DOC” personalized license plates, which she says helps educate a few people who seem surprised deaf people can even drive a car, let alone become a doctor.

It's equally amazing to hear from some Deaf people that for a Deaf person to become a judge would be impossible.