Ireland urged to provide sign language interpreters so deaf people can serve on juries

From The Irish Independent:

New laws should be introduced to allow sign language interpreters to help deaf jurors during confidential deliberations, it was urged last night.

DeafHear, formerly the National Association of Deaf People (NADF), has called for reform of Ireland's jury laws following a landmark legal action which said there could be no blanket ban on deaf people serving on juries.

July 17, deaf mother-of-two Joan Clarke, from Loughrea, Co Galway, won part of her High Court action challenging a long-standing ban on deaf people serving on juries.

Ms Clarke, whose husband is also deaf, has been deaf since birth.

High Court Judge Mr Justice Daniel O'Keeffe ruled that the county registrar in Galway had no power to "excuse" Ms Clarke from jury service as there is no mechanism to excuse people like Ms Clarke who are ineligible to serve on a jury.

DeafHear last night said that the presence of sign language interpreters in a jury room would not offend the "13th person" rule which bans anyone apart from 12 jurors being present during deliberations.

"An interpreter is present to assist the deaf person not to represent any side," said DeafHear's CEO Niall Keane, who has interpreted on behalf of deaf suspects in criminal trials and has signed for deaf people in family law and rape cases.

"The juror, even if they are deaf, is still in the lead. The interpreter is there to assist the deaf juror and acts as an impartial officer of the court."

Because Mr Justice O'Keeffe decided to quash the decision to exclude Ms Clarke from the jury on a technical point of law, the judge did not go on to deal with the substantive Constitutional or European Convention on Human Rights issues connected with the case.

But the judge said that in his opinion sign language interpreters could not be allowed into a jury room as it would breach the absolute confidentiality of juror deliberations.

The Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC), which represented Ms Clarke, who did not attend court yesterday, welcomed the ruling.

FLAC solicitor Michael Farrell said the decision made an important dent in the ban on deaf persons serving on juries which had been in force until now. Such a ban was offensive and hurtful to deaf people and had no place in a modern, inclusive society, he said.