Brooklyn resident sues for illegal exclusion from Grand Jury participation due to blindness.
Brooklyn, New York – Brooklyn resident Albert Elia and the National Federation of the Blind – New York filed a federal lawsuit against the New York State Unified Court System and the Kings County Commissioner of Jurors challenging their systemic discrimination against blind individuals who report for jury duty. Plaintiffs are represented by Disability Rights Advocates and Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP. Read the complaint.
Mr. Elia, an attorney and graduate from 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. But on his first day, the Court excluded him from deliberating on cases that involved video or photo evidence, under the incorrect and harmful assumption that Mr. Elia could not interpret that evidence because he is blind, and he was ultimately dismissed altogether. The Court refused to allow Mr. Elia to use assistive technology or receive verbal descriptions of evidence, which would have allowed him to fulfill his civic duty alongside his fellow grand jurors. The lawsuit alleges that the Brooklyn courts fail to have appropriate policies and procedures in place to avoid these 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,” said Plaintiff Albert Elia, “it also deprives those facing criminal charges a grand jury composed of a fair cross-section of New Yorkers.”
“The National Federation of the Blind is committed to the full integration of blind people into all aspects of society, including performing our civic duty as jurors,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “The evaluation of evidence, including so-called visual evidence, is possible with the proper accommodations required by law, and juror functions like determining the credibility and value of testimony and weighing the evidence presented by the parties do not require eyesight. Of all government entities, the courts ought to be the most aware of their legal obligations and of the right of blind people to participate in the judicial process, and blind Americans will not tolerate anything less.”
Plaintiffs allege that Mr. Elia’s experience is part of a pattern of discrimination against blind jurors in New York State courts. Among other relief, the lawsuit seeks an order to ensure that Defendants take all necessary steps to ensure blind individuals have equal access to jury service.
About National Federation of the Blind – New York: The National Federation of the Blind, headquartered in Baltimore, defends the rights of blind people of all ages and provides information and support to families with blind children, older Americans who are losing vision, and more. Founded in 1940, the NFB is the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans with affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. We believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to transform them into reality. Learn more about our many programs and initiatives at nfb.org.
About Disability Rights Advocates (DRA): With offices in California, New York, and Illinois, Disability Rights Advocates is the leading national nonprofit disability rights legal center. Its mission is to advance equal rights and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities nationwide. DRA represents people with all types of disabilities in complex, system-changing, class action cases. Thanks to DRA’s precedent-setting work, people with disabilities across the country have dramatically improved access to education, health care, employment, transportation, disaster preparedness planning, voting, and housing. For more information, visit www.dralegal.org.
About Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP: Brown, Goldstein & Levy provides the highest quality legal services to a broad range of clients, without sacrificing our deep sense of community and social responsibility. By elevating our clients’ voices and fighting for their rights, we seek to bring about a more just world – sometimes one dispute at a time, sometimes through systemic change.
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