On the 10th anniversary of the day they met, Joel Alfaro and Yusela Machado Silvente were dressed up and ready to become husband and wife when they visited the Duval County Clerk of Circuit Court’s office in October 2021, called again in August 2022, to receive their marriage license.
To the couple’s dismay, the Duval County Clerk of Circuit Court’s office denied Joel and Yusela, who are both deaf, their marriage license because they didn’t bring a sign language interpreter with them to the clerk’s office. This is a clear violation of their rights, specifically the Americans with Disabilities Act.
As disappointed as they were to be turned away on their special day, the couple’s sadness only deepened when they ran into complications while making many attempts to figure out what they actually needed to do before they could say ‘I do.’
A year later, the Clerk of Circuit Court in Duval County still hasn’t issued the couple a marriage license, so Joel and Yusela have yet to get married.
Joel and Yusela have now filed a lawsuit against the Circuit Court of Duval County and Clerk of Circuit Court Jody Phillips in an effort to ensure that other deaf couples do not endure the same unnecessary challenges that they have.
The couple is represented by John Phillips of Phillips & Hunt, Mary C. Vargas and Michael S. Stein of Stein & Vargas, LLP and Marc Charmatz of the National Association of the Deaf.
The couple and attorney John Phillips of Phillips & Hunt will address the media today at 11 a.m. at Phillips’ law offices, 212 N. Laura Street, 4th floor, Jacksonville, 32202.
A copy of the complaint, which was filed today in Duval County, can be viewed here.
Media contacts
- Lizzie Bloom
National Association of the Deaf
[email protected]
- Ryan Julison
Phillips & Hunt
321-377-6877
- Mary Vargas
Stein & Vargas
240-793-3185
[email protected]