American Sign Language Commons^™

Asl? Language Foreign Me? Homeborn: Conflicts Between Juror Laws And American Sign Language Interpretation For A Deaf Juror: An Unrecognized Problem, Jean T. Jims

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

American Sign Language is not English, but many deaf Americans use it as their primary language; some their only language. Federal and most state. Statutes which establish juror qualifications have English language requirements. This thesis will explain how those requirements are contradictory when applied to a deaf juror who would require American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation during service as a juror, and propose that it would be in the best interests of the judicial system to recognize those contradictions and address the problem. Legislative history does not offer a clear answer, and the issue is sufficiently in doubt that legislative …