[Reader-users] KNFB reader helps dispense justice

[Hope Hein]

Wow Mike!
Your story is inspiring.

Hope

-----Original Message-----
.From: "Jan Bailey"<jb021951 at charter.net>
.Sent: 12/7/06 8:51:39 PM
.To: "Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader users list"<reader-users at nfbnet.org>
.Subject: Re: [Reader-users] KNFB reader helps dispense justice
.
.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
.> 
.
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