Audio video recording produced by the Office of the Jury Commissioner in association with the Boston Neighborhood Network. Transcript produced by Approved Court Transcriber Donna H. Dominguez. For more information visit our website JuryDuty.MAjury.gov or call 1-800-THE-JURY, 1-800-843-5879.
Executive Producer: Pamela J. Wood, Jury Commissioner for the Commonwealth
Producer: Michael Ryan, Communications Coordinator, Office of Jury Commissioner
Director: Cullen Cockrell
Audio and Video Tape Operator Wallace Fashaw
Camera Operators Marcela Maroso and Vsevolod Iskiyaev
Studio Manager: David A. Palomares, BNN
Project Manager/Editor: Gregory W.R. Fulchino, Office of Jury Commissioner
“Jury Duty” was produced in association with the Boston Neighborhood Network, 3025 Washington Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts 02119.
Copyright 2015/2016 [Episodes 01-11/Episode 12] - the Office of the Jury Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 560 Harrison Avenue - Suite 600, Boston, Massachusetts 02118. Website: MAjury.gov.
CAPTION: Jury Duty, Michael Ryan, Host
MICHAEL RYAN, BNN LIVE HOST: Hello. My name is Mike Ryan. The name of the show is Jury Duty: You Make a Difference on BNN, the show that should answer all your questions about the one day, one trial jury system.
HOST RYAN: Our guest today is Heidi Reed who is the Commissioner for the Mass Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing. Welcome, Heidi.
MS. REED: Thank you, Mike. And thanks for having us.
HOST RYAN: Thank you for being on the show. We also have Denise Martinez, who is one of the 23 legally trained ASL interpreters who hopefully will go out in the future and work with deaf jurors. Heidi is a proud graduate of William Smith College, and she is, received her Master’s Degree from Gallaudet University. She is pre-lingually deaf and, deaf and has worked at deaf nonprofit agencies in New Orleans and in Boston and became the Commissioner in 2002. So today, we’d like to talk about the deaf juror project. How did that come about?
MS. REED: The deaf juror project is really a partnership between Mass Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Jury Commission here in Massachusetts. We partnered together because we really wanted to make sure that deaf people who could serve on the jury would be able to get the appropriate and qualified American Sign Language Interpreters, allowing them to have full access to the process and serve on the jury.
HOST RYAN: And this is a three year project?
MS. REED: We are now in the third year of the three year project. We’re in the process of testing all fourteen counties across the Commonwealth, and this is our final year.
HOST RYAN: And you’ve been in nine counties, correct, out of the fourteen?
MS. REED: We have. That's correct. And this coming fall, we’ll be testing in Barnstable County.
HOST RYAN: All right. You’ll be down in Cape Cod. And Denise, you’re one of the 23 legally trained interpreters.
MS. MARTINEZ: Yes, I am.
HOST RYAN: How does one become a legally trained ASL interpreter?
MS. REED: In the State of Massachusetts, they have a specific training program that they are offering through the Trial Courts and in conjunction with the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. There’s a specific number of training hours, and then a specific number of mentoring hours. And then they are qualified through the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to interpret in the State of Massachusetts.
HOST RYAN: So sometime in the future, you’ll be working with deaf jurors when they report for jury duty?
MS. MARTINEZ: Yes.
HOST RYAN: And, Commissioner, it’s believed that about 400 deaf jurors are called for jury duty every year, is that correct?
MS. REED: That's correct. And the challenge for us is to know that we have 400 people who will be qualified to serve. How do we assure that communication is accessible to them and to, to match the qualified sign language interpreters necessary for them to come and appear for jury duty, and that’s the reason for our partnership.
HOST RYAN: What is the protocol when a deaf juror reports for jury duty? In other words, what, what should we expect?
MS. REED: Well, deaf people who will receive their summons for duty, for jury duty, will then be in touch with the Jury Commissioner. And a deaf person is in touch with the Jury Commission to confirm the date that they will serve. And then the Jury Commission contacts us at the Mass Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and we provide the appropriate qualified interpreters for that service.
HOST RYAN: So a deaf juror, just like any juror, will go through, they’ll check in. They’ll submit their confidential juror questionnaire, watch the jury movie, and then wait to go to the courtroom.
MS. REED: That's correct. It’s exactly the same process. A deaf person arrives. And we make sure, through the testing process, we just make sure that the interpreters will be there. The deaf person arrives to check in, and through the organization, the jury duty officer will be there and welcome them just like anyone else. The Judge will provide a welcome message. And during the process, the interpreters will be interpreting all of that process for the deaf juror all the way through.
HOST RYAN: I didn't realize that signing is physically demanding, and that periodically the sign, the signers have to switch off from time to time?
MS. REED: Yes. Actually both intellectually and physically demanding. And sign language interpreters are attending in a very deep consecutive level one language to complete into a complete other language. So it involves concentration, auditorally, visually, and your, your mind to process the information. Plus then the production of the signs uses facial expressions, body, and your arms and hands. And so we require them to work in a team of two individuals, and they alternate approximately every 20 to 30 minutes to ensure that the interpreters are able to do their job and work without mental or physical fatigue or injury.
HOST RYAN: So you were one of the first, yourself, to do jury duty?
MS. REED: Yes, I was. My experience happened in Boston at the Brooke Courthouse. And it was really a great experience. I went through the entire process and I really had a, a serious appreciation of what it requires to be a juror and all that’s done. It was interesting also because during the process, we were able to work together with the Court staff and, as well as the Judge. And I noticed that there were many challenges that need to be considered in terms of confidentiality, in terms of communication, and we learned for example that the analysis about, in terms of where the best place for the interpreters to be standing is. We also learned that when the Judge called me to go actually to have a, individual discussion, we had to consider how to provide some kind of screening and shielding so that no one else who knew sign language would be able to see that conversation that I’m having in private with the Judge. So we learned a tremendous amount. It was a great experience, and it allowed us to develop a good process on how we can make the communication happen during the time that a deaf person serves on the jury.
HOST RYAN: So you were a, sort of an explorer that, because you had to find out where the interpreters would be located, you mentioned also if a deaf juror went to sidebar, evidently now they’re supposed to put screens up so that no one in the audience can see any signing during the sidebar?
MS. REED: That's correct. Exactly. And that’s why the pilot project was so crucial because we had to go through the process of analysis to figure out the best placement and the best preparation for the whole process.
HOST RYAN: Now, you got all the way into the jury box, correct?
MS. REED: That's correct. I was selected. I was seating, seated in the box. The kind of case was a very serious situation. It was a criminal case. And the Judge called me to approach and ask me some questions. And I then returned to the box, but there was, I was not called to go to the gallery. I was released.
HOST RYAN: But you were close. You were close.
MS. REED: I was very, very close to being selected, yes.
HOST RYAN: And were you, were you disappointed that you didn't sit on a jury?
MS. REED: I was just fully so appreciative of the whole process of going in and being able to participate fully and understand everything that was going on. I was appreciative of that. The questions that were asked of me, the procedure, it was very clear for me, and it was evident that there was a strong team of interpreters there that made this all possible for a deaf person to fully participate. Yes, I would have loved the opportunity to serve on the jury, but I was also aware that that doesn't always happen for everyone. But just being there and going through the process is, is extremely valuable and a great responsibility that you have as a citizen.
HOST RYAN: And because of your experience then, that sort of became a template on how other deaf jurors would come and report for service?
MS. REED: That's correct. That's correct. And then during the pilot process, one deaf person did actually become selected to serve on the jury during the process, and we were very proud of that fact and all the work that we’ve been doing to set up the appropriate procedures obviously made it work and made it happen.
HOST RYAN: So you, so one person has been picked for jury. I think it’s in Lynn Court, Lynn District Court?
MS. REED: That's correct. That’s absolutely correct. I think that everyone really benefits from that experience, being able to have the Courts being fully accessible and qualified jurors being selected, including deaf jurors there. And it’s a tremendous strength that we have at this time.
HOST RYAN: Now, why, why was it a problem for deaf people to serve on a jury before the project?
MS. REED: Well, before the project started, deaf people would be contacted by the Jury Commission, and the Jury Commission would contact us, the Mass Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and we knew we had a very small pool of qualified legal interpreters. And that pool of legal interpreters needed to serve the entire Commonwealth. And they would go to Courts all over the state and provide interpreter services for deaf people who were there as a witness or as a defendant or as a complaint, as a, being prosecuted. And so all over the, all over the State of Massachusetts, we needed to provide service for them. And there was an, that was an urgent situation where we needed to absolutely provide the communication access for these individuals. And it became challenging for us to be able to provide interpreters for the jury situation when an emergency situation would come up with the police or with the Courts. And so we had to figure out how to serve all of those situations at the same time. And that’s when we have now 23 legal interpreters. Before, we did not have 23. And more have been trained. And we have the partnership with the, with the partnership with the Courts has made this possible, and so we have a larger pool of people to draw from.
It’s been a huge challenge before because of the small pool of interpreters we had. And there were so many situations demanding of their time, and people that needed access to the legal system and to the Courts.
HOST RYAN: So it was really a numbers game. There just weren’t enough interpreters at the time to accommodate the number of requests by deaf jurors to serve jury duty?
MS. REED: That's correct. We’ve also developed a system where we believe will work very, very effectively, and give us a plan of action, and will allow us to coordinate the process into a way to assure that those deaf people who are called every year will have the opportunity to serve. And we can accommodate the schedule with interpreters and they can participate in jury service.
HOST RYAN: Denise, have you worked in the Courts interpreting?
MS. MARTINEZ: I have.
HOST RYAN: And what kind of, what kind of things would you do interpreting in the Court system?
MS. MARTINEZ: I’ve interpreted for trials, criminal and civil. I’ve interpreted in the Superior Courts and the District Courts. And it ranges depending on arraignments, all the way up until --
HOST RYAN: Victims? Witnesses?
MS. MARTINEZ: Victim, witnesses, various trials.
HOST RYAN: And --
MS. MARTINEZ: I’ve worked a lot in the Court systems.
HOST RYAN: So is it very exhausting? Are you interpreting for like the whole length of a Court day?
MS. MARTINEZ: The Commission would assign two interpreters.
HOST RYAN: Sure.
MS. MARTINEZ: We would work in tandem together to ensure accuracy for the record and to seek clarification if we needed it. And it alleviates fatigue and reduces the amount of errors that are made for the record if we have two interpreters.
HOST RYAN: Oh, very good. So we’ve had one juror picked for jury service in Massachusetts. So that’s something that’s really exciting. What else does the Commission do, just briefly? What, what can you tell us what the Mass Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing does?
MS. REED: Well, the Commission was established by the Massachusetts State Association to do a wide range of services and support that deaf people, hard of hearing individuals, can access and have opportunity for. We also provide technical assistance and training and support for other providers and their services and programs, and so that they can be accessible for deaf and hard of hearing people as well. In addition to the qualified legal interpreters, we have a state referral service which refers interpreters and also captioners. And we, we provide, we have a children specialist, a case management services for deaf individuals, and we also do a very specific kind of technical assistance where we assist people, assist people in understanding their options for communication access and using technology.
HOST RYAN: And you have quite a few offices, correct?
MS. REED: We, our main office is here in Boston. We also have a very small office in Worcester and one in Springfield and one in Plymouth and Pittsfield, and that statewide presence is important for us to be able to connect with service providers for deaf and hard of hearing people all across the Commonwealth.
HOST RYAN: So hopefully we can look forward in the future for having more deaf jurors report for jury service and hopefully being, eventually being selected on trial.
MS. REED: We are committed to make that happen, absolutely.
HOST RYAN: And what, what advice would you say to anybody who was hearing impaired and got called for jury duty? What advice would you give them?
MS. REED: Well, I think that it’s a very, it’s very good information on our website from the Jury Commission, that they could print that, it’s very clear, and it would give them in, information. There are videos, like this program, really are very helpful to allow people to see what is in, what is available. There’s the website as well. And for people, they can just contact the Jury Commission automatically, we’ll be sent and scheduled interpreters for their service. The important part of the process is scheduling, just making sure that the timelines line up for the interpreters and for the deaf jurors who, so that everyone has access to communication. It’s an amazing experience, and I am, have much more appreciation and much more understanding for the severity and, and the, the importance of serving as a juror. And everyone should be aware of that and should look forward to participating,
HOST RYAN: And you would --
MS. REED: -- as I did.
HOST RYAN: And you would encourage people who are deaf to re, try to report for jury service?
MS. REED: Absolutely, absolutely.
HOST RYAN: I’d like to thank our guests from the Deaf Juror Project, Commissioner Heidi Reed for being on the show. We’ll take a quick break and we’ll come back and talk to Commissioner Pam Wood about jury public outreach.
(Break Taken.)
HOST RYAN: Hi. During this segment, we’d like to talk about the jury public outreach program. I’m joined by Jury Commissioner Pam Wood. Thank you for being on the show.
MS. WOOD: Thank you for having me, Mike.
HOST RYAN: Pam, why was the jury public outreach program created?
MS. WOOD: Well, a couple of reasons. It’s in the statute. There's, the, the statute, Chapter 234A of the Mass General Laws, which is our jury statute, encourages public education. And then in 1994, the Supreme Judicial Court formed a task force to examine racial and ethnic bias in the Courts. And one of the recommendations was that the Office of Jury Commissioner, my office, create a formal public outreach program to try to educate a broad segment of the population.
HOST RYAN: What are the goals of the program?
MS. WOOD: Well, primarily we want to educate people about the jury system and de-mystify the process for them. A lot of people, when they’re first called for jury service, are worried that it’s going to be a big time commitment or that they’re not going to be equal to the task of, of deciding the cases. And it’s a building block of citizenship to perform jury service, and we want people to have a, a positive and enriching experience. About 90 percent of people are done with their jury service in one day. So it’s a very quick and easy experience. And for many people, particularly those who get put on a jury, it’s a very rewarding experience. We want them to have an opportunity to learn about the third branch of government, to understand how easy it is to participate and respond and to avoid delinquency, avoid becoming a delinquent by failing to respond to your jury summons.
HOST RYAN: Okay. And what are some of the examples of jury public outreach?
MS. WOOD: Well, we have, we have live presentations as you well know --
HOST RYAN: Yes.
MS. WOOD: -- because you are our, one of our primary outreach presenters. I also will go out and speak to groups and, and organizations and visitors who want to learn more about our jury system. We also have a very strong online presence for people who just want to noodle around themselves on the internet and learn more about the jury system. So we have a website that has historical information. It has all the jury forms that anyone might need can be downloaded off our website. Our video, our jury orientation video which was honored by the National Center for State Courts, is available for viewing on our website, as is this entire series of cable shows that you’ve been hosting for us. And then of course we have live presentations. And, and you will, you go out into the, the schools, primarily, and some civic groups as well. And, and I’ll make presentations as well.
HOST RYAN: What’s that address for the website?
MS. WOOD: The website is MAJury.Gov. So.
HOST RYAN: MAJury.Gov.
MS. WOOD: Massachusetts Jury.Gov is what it stands for, but the letters are MAJury.Gov.
HOST RYAN: And we’ve gone out to hundreds of groups. We’ve gone to, as you said, school and civic groups, well over 100,000 people, many presentations. And like when I go out, I talk to, you know, public schools, private schools, parochial schools, usually from middle school all the way up through college. And you go out to a lot of civic groups yourself?
MS. WOOD: Yes. I’ve, I’ve, I speak to basically anyone who is interested in, in the justice system, the jury system. I’ve spoken to the League of Women Voters. I’ve spoken at colleges as well. I often meet with foreign visitors. There are many, most people don’t realize that America is one of the only countries that has a jury system, and there are many, many countries that are very envious of that. And they come here to study our jury system and try to figure out if there’s some way that they can create a jury system or emulate it in some way so as to create greater public confidence in the justice system. That’s one of the main benefits of our jury system, is that people have confidence in judicial decisions because they know that they, the people themselves, have, have acted in that role as well.
HOST RYAN: You’ve had visitors from several countries that just started jury, correct?
MS. WOOD: Yes. In fact, we were very, we’ve had visitors from Japan which have, has created what’s known as the Sybon Inn System. I’ve spoken with people from Chile. I’ve had the great honor to visit China, which is trying to establish a jury system and has made some preliminary experiments in that regard much to our surprise and delight. So it’s very interesting for me as well. Turkey, Peru, people from all over the world come here and invite us to go visit them to learn more about our jury system.
HOST RYAN: Now, like when I go out to schools, I do a, a free multimedia presentation. And it’s very quick, very fast paced, talk about the history of jury, talk about the history of jury from say the, the Greeks, the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Mass Constitution, Federal Constitutions, excuse me, and then I talk a little about, you know, contemporary criminal cases that people are aware about, but to show what happens when somebody sits on a trial and whether somebody has a positive or negative verdict. Talk a little bit about civic, civil cases because too often, I think you, you and I agree that, you know, people are so fixated on a murder case or a criminal case, they forget we need them to resolve civil and private disputes. I talk a little bit about what not to wear and what’s the best thing to wear for jury duty.
MS. WOOD: Business casual is what we tell people.
HOST RYAN: Business casual, and we’ve had some people across the country who wore some colorful attire that got them into trouble, so we warn jurors not to copy their fashion statement, talk a little about social media, and we have posters in our pools, correct?
MS. WOOD: We do, we do. But I think the best thing about your programs, and the reason they’re so very popular and people invite you back again and again is that you really make it fun for, for the students, and that’s, and the letters that come in about the great job that you’ve done, they always talk about the games you play and the jokes, and, and the mock trial and things.
HOST RYAN: Yeah. It’s, yeah, some of the worst jokes probably ever recorded in history. But like you mention too, we, we do a little thing on jury jeopardy, and that’s followed by a discussion of what happens if you go to a country that doesn't have trial by jury, where you might have very grave consequences for you, talk a little about jury delinquency and our jury delinquency program, what are the disqualifications. And then if I have the time, certain schools have long blocks, 75, 90 minute blocks, I’m able to put on a, not myself, the kids put on a roll play where they actually go through the procedure of coming to jury duty, speaking to a Judge if they have a hardship, and then putting one of the students on trial. You know, the kids play the Judge, the clerk, the two lawyers, jurors, and witnesses, and I think it’s a, it’s a real hit with them with the students. So how do people contact us about jury public outreach?
MS. WOOD: Well, anybody who’s interested in a presentation can either call us at 1-800-THE-JURY, or they can go online and make a request at MAJury.GOV, or on our, on our email line at Juror Help at JUD.State.MA.US. It’s, it’s, it’s a mouthful. Just go on MAJury.Gov, and you’ll find the links.
HOST RYAN: Now, and as I say, I occasionally go out and I speak to civic groups like yourself, like rotary or Kiwanis, anybody who needs a speaker during the day. So we hope by either calling the, going online at MAJury.Gov or calling us toll free at 1-800-THE --
MS. WOOD: JURY.
HOST RYAN: -- JURY, 1-800-843-5879, you’ll take advantage of this program. Thank you.
MS. WOOD: Thank you.
HOST RYAN: Thank you, Pam.
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