Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies

New courtroom is a model of accessibility

Stetson's teaching courtroom, unveiled Friday, shows how to accommodate the elderly and disabled.

GULFPORT - Former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh told a story Friday about a Tennessee man forced to get out of his wheelchair and crawl up a flight of stairs just so he could reach a courtroom in a building without an elevator.

But a courtroom unveiled Friday on the campus of the Stetson University College of Law is designed to show that courtrooms can be welcoming to the elderly and disabled.

Inside the William R. Eleazer Courtroom, electronic gates swing open automatically, a podium rises and lowers, and the lights don't emit annoying buzzing sounds. Those and other features were designed to show that courtrooms can be friendly to those who have limited sight or hearing, use walkers or wheelchairs or have other disabilities.

"We are educating our students on the fact that you can have barrier-free courtrooms," said Rebecca Morgan, a Stetson professor and expert in elder law who spearheaded the project along with fellow professor Bobbi Flowers.

Although many courtrooms across the country have been modified somewhat to become handicapped-accessible, Thornburgh said: "This is the only one that from the ground up has special emphasis on the needs of the disabled. It's an exemplar for every other new courtroom being built across the country."

This will be primarily a teaching courtroom for law students, but Pinellas-Pasco Chief Judge David Demers said he is looking into ways that real legal proceedings, such as guardianship or family law matters, could be conducted there.

"I'm excited about it," said Demers, a Stetson graduate. "I'm hoping that we can work out something between the court and Stetson."

Morgan and Flowers, who head centers at the college for elder law and advocacy, respectively, said their idea was to design a courtroom that allowed disabled people to come inside without needing special help or calling undue attention to themselves.

Before entering the courtroom, people can view a plasma screen television that shows the layout inside. A touch screen system answers questions.

Inside, there are chairs instead of the usual cramped rows of benches. And the courtroom has desks as well, since it doubles as a classroom.

Strips of dark carpet serve as visual cues to where the desks are, to help those with diminished sight avoid bumping into them. The desks and tables have beige tops bordered by dark wood, another visual cue. In case someone does bump into the furniture, the edges are rounded. The lights and tabletops are designed to be glare-free.

Plasma screens drop from the ceiling to help the audience and jury look at exhibits entered into evidence. Jurors in wheelchairs can move to the front of the jury box. A ramp has been added inside the judicial chambers as well, in case a judge is in a wheelchair. The witness stand is at floor level, unlike most that require people to step up. Hearing devices also are available for those who need them.

AARP chief executive officer Bill Novelli, who attended the ceremony Friday, said these innovations make sense because baby boomers are aging.

"Let's hope this will become a model for courtrooms all across the United States and hopefully the world," he said.

The courtroom was named for William R. Eleazer, a distinguished professor emeritus of law, who attended the ceremony Friday.