Indianapolis, Indiana – The State of Indiana has agreed to a settlement payment of $124,500.00, inclusive of attorneys’ fees and costs, to resolve a lawsuit brought under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in which plaintiffs alleged that defendants did not provide sign language interpreter services to ensure effective communication when a deaf individual was a spectator in criminal court. Steven [Matt] Prakel wanted to attend a criminal court hearing in which his mother was a party. He requested an interpreter so that he could understand the legal proceedings. His mother paid for the cost of the interpreter. Mr. Prakel and his mother sued the judges, the State of Indiana and others.
A federal district court in Indiana held that the ADA and Section 504 applied to spectators, dismissed the claims against the State of Indiana and others but allowed the damages claims to proceed against the judges only. The parties agreed to settle the case with no admission of liability by the judges.
“All I wanted to do was to understand what was being said in court,” said Mr. Prakel. “Courts need to be accessible when a deaf person attends a court hearing.”
“Courts throughout the United States must provide auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with deaf and hard of hearing individuals, whether they are parties, witnesses, jurors, judges, or spectators. This case affirms this basic legal right,” said Howard A. Rosenblum, Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD).
The Prakels were represented by the National Association of the Deaf, Stein & Vargas, LLP and the Lorch Law Office, LLC.
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The NAD was established in 1880 by deaf leaders who believed in the right of the American deaf community to use sign language, to congregate on issues important to them, and to have its interests represented at the national level. As a nonprofit federation, the mission of the NAD is to preserve, protect, and promote the civil, human, and linguistic rights of deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States. The advocacy scope of the NAD is broad, covering the breadth of a lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth leadership, and more.
Stein & Vargas, LLP is a litigation firm committed to ensuring the full and equal access of individuals with disabilities.
Attorney Matthew W. Lorch is a proud supporter of the pursuit of protecting the rights of those with disabilities.
Contact
- Howard Rosenblum, [email protected]
- Mary Vargas, 240-793-3185 or [email protected]
- Matthew Lorch, 812-949-2111 or [email protected]