[Reader-users] KNFB reader helps dispense justice

[Jan Bailey]

That's great!

Jan

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "mhingson" <mhingson at guidedogs.com>
To: "'Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader users list'" 
<reader-users at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 7:25 PM
Subject: [Reader-users] KNFB reader helps dispense justice


> Hi everyone,
>
> Here is another story for the annals of the KNFB reader.
>
> Recently I was summoned to report for jury duty here in Marin County.  I 
> was
> asked to report last Wednesday.  So, with KNFB reader and BookPort in hand
> off I went to do my civic duty.
>
> After the obligatory preliminaries and introduction to jury service were
> completed hi and 59 other people trooped down to courtrooms see where we
> anxiously waited to see who would be selected to serve on the jury for the
> trial being conducted in that courtroom.  I was not one of the first 12
> summoned to sit in the jury box.  However, after 10 or 11 peremptory
> challenges I was drafted and took my place in the box.  I was questioned 
> by
> the judge, the prosecutor, and the defense lawyer.  Although I was not
> challenged, another person was and so the selection process went on. 
> After
> two more challenges the attorneys said they were satisfied.
>
> There I was with 11 other people now sitting in judgment of an individual
> brought up on a misdemeanor battery charge.  The process and the trial 
> were
> fascinating.  I won't bore you with all the facts.  Suffice it to say we 
> all
> paid attention and did our best to wait our turn to discuss the facts in 
> the
> jury room at the end of the trial.
>
> Skip ahead now to Friday morning.  The judge read her instructions to the
> jury at the end of the day on Thursday.  We all arrived on Friday fresh 
> and
> ready to deliberate.  The first order of business was to select a four
> person.  Someone said "who wants to be four people"?  After about 15 
> seconds
> of silence I spoke up and said that as long as no one else was 
> volunteering
> I would be willing to take the job.  And so, there I was reader and 
> BookPort
> in hand, foreman of the jury.
>
> As we began to deliberate it became obvious that we needed to reread the
> instructions the judge had given to us.  This was done by one of the other
> jurors, for the most part.  However, there were times when I wanted to
> specifically read certain portions while others talked.  Out came the KNFB
> reader with Bluetooth dongle attached and Bluetooth headpiece in my ear. 
> I
> read the instruction sections I needed to read.  The reader performed
> flawlessly!  It was wonderful to be able to read independently and use 
> that
> knowledge from my reading to help in our deliberations.  In fact, because 
> of
> what I read, I was able to bring appropriate focus to certain portions of
> the trial specifically in considering certain parts of the law.
>
> We deliberated for an hour and 15 minutes after which we found the 
> defendant
> not guilty.  As in such cases, the decision needed to be a unanimous one.
> It was.
>
> We all left the courtroom feeling we did a great job.  The judge was
> impressed with what the KNFB reader did.  I think the news got around the
> entire courthouse very quickly.
>
> I think this story is what the KNFB reader development project and all our
> hard work is all about.  Justice was served and the organized blind were
> part of the process.  Great job everyone!  Now, I am just waiting for the
> day that history gets reinvented and we discover that Perry Mason was 
> blind
> (grin).  By the way, I never did get to use the BookPort.
>
> Mike Hingson
>
> _______________________________________________
> Reader-users mailing list
> Reader-users at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/reader-users
>