On Wednesday, Brooklyn resident Albert Elia and the National Federation of the Blind of New York filed a federal lawsuit against the New York State Unified Court System and the Kings County Commissioner of Jurors, challenging what they called discrimination against blind people who report for jury duty.
The plaintiffs are represented by Disability Rights Advocates and Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP.
Elia, an attorney and a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and Harvard College, was sworn in as a grand juror in Kings County Supreme Court in fall 2024. He met all the requirements to serve as a juror.
However, on the first day, he was excluded from deliberating on cases that involved video or photo evidence under the incorrect assumption that Elia could not interpret that evidence because he is blind, according to the lawsuit. Eventually, he was dismissed.
The court refused to allow Elia to use assistive technology or receive verbal descriptions of evidence. The lawsuit alleges that the Brooklyn courts fail to have appropriate policies and procedures in place to avoid exclusionary practices.
“Juror service is one of the most important civic duties in a democracy, and in New York, it is a civil right,” said Victoria Pilger, staff attorney at Disability Rights Advocates. “Federal law requires courts to ensure no person is excluded from jury service on the basis of their disability. And New York stopped categorically excluding people with disabilities from serving on juries in 1983. Yet, decades later, New York courts continue to deny blind individuals their right to serve on a jury.”
“This unlawful exclusion not only deprived me of the honor and duty of jury service,” Elia himself said, “it also deprives those facing criminal charges a grand jury composed of a fair cross-section of New Yorkers.”
The plaintiffs charge that Elia’s experience is part of a pattern of discrimination against blind jurors in New York State courts. The lawsuit seeks an order to ensure that defendants take all necessary steps to ensure blind individuals have equal access to jury service.
According to the New York Unified Court System’s official “New York Jury” website, “Courts may also be able to provide a reader for visually impaired jurors.” However, it also says that “a juror who has a mobility impairment and is sent to a courtroom with access problems may be reassigned to a different location that has better access.
