Defending Your Rights

Disability Rights:
Judicial, Legal and Law Enforcement Training

Opening the Bench and Bar to People with Disabilities

Access to the legal system is a basic necessity in our society. Most people with disabilities want to participate in the legal system - as jurors, witnesses, litigants, attorneys or judges. In addition to participating in the legal system, people with disabilities seek legal representation for other purposes such as buying a home, obtaining a divorce, drafting a will or planning for retirement. In some cases, however, physical, attitudinal or informational barriers keep them from participating in the legal process or obtaining legal representation.

The Attorney General appointed a committee to review the needs of people with disabilities in a legal setting and recommend a plan of action. The committee established the four goals listed below. The Attorney General met with the Chief Judges of the circuit courts who endorsed the project. Products of the project include:

• A pamphlet for attorneys describing their obligations to accommodate people with disabilities under state and federal law. The pamphlet is distributed to interested/affected parties.
  

• A manual for judges that describes key state and federal statutes, defines who is a qualified person with a disability, addresses access to programs and facilities, offers guidelines for accommodating and interacting with people with disabilities, provides information on evaluating physical access to a courthouse, describes selected cases and settlements, cites other disability related statutes that affect the conduct or operations of the courts, and provides information on the role of court disability coordinators. A copy of the manual has been sent to every judge in Illinois. At the request of the Chief Judge of a circuit court, presentations are given to personnel within the circuit.
  

• The identification and training of a network of court disability coordinators who receive and disseminate information regarding accommodating people with disabilities in a judicial setting. The first training was held in October 1996 and most recent in October 2002. It is anticipated another training will be scheduled for October 2004.
  

• A video to highlight the concepts in the judges' manual and inform other affected parties of their obligations to accommodate people with disabilities. The video has been completed and used at various seminars such as the presentation to the Illinois Association of Court Administrators. A copy has been sent to each circuit court.

Court Disability Coordinators

Court Disability Coordinators (CDCs) are persons who have been appointed by the Chief Judge of their circuit court. They are professionals who currently have various duties and specific expertise in some aspect of the judicial process. Court Disability Coordinators have access to a vast array of people and agencies that can help ensure program accessibility for people with disabilities as well as the statute regarding sign language interpreters. CDCs have been given guidelines for determining who is a protected person with a disability, what constitutes program accessibility and how it can be achieved.

To obtain the name of the Court Disability Coordinator in your area, contact the Disability Rights Bureau in Springfield at 1-217-524-2660 and 1-877-844-5461 (TTY) or in Chicago at 312-814-5684 and 1-800-964-3013 (TTY).

List of Court Disability Coordinators
If you have problems with this PDF, please contact one of the numbers above.

Training Law Enforcement Officials Regarding People with Disabilities

A manual for law enforcement officials and officers describing their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Illinois law has been developed. The manual, Equal Justice: Law Enforcement and People with Disabilities, is being used to train Elderly Service Officers and other interested parties about people with disabilities. Included in the manual is information about key state and federal statutes governing law enforcement accommodations for people with disabilities, synopses of cases and settlements involving law enforcement entities and guidelines for providing reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.

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