Are all disabled people in Yavapai County in wheelchairs?
RE:
State Bar of Arizona Task Force on Persons with Disabilities
Accessibility Committee Site Visit
Arizona Superior Court in Yavapai County
Yavapai County Courthouse
Prescott, Arizona
Team: Mary Birmingham (team leader) (University of Arizona College of Law); Emily Johnston (Board of Governors, State Bar of Arizona); Matt Perry (UA 3L); Melinda Parry (PhD candidate); Bill Sheldon (State Compensation Fund)
Court Personnel: Deborah M. Schaefer (Court Administrator) and Devin Anderson (Court Services Coordinator). Presiding Judge: The Hon. Raymond W. Weaver. Other Courthouse Officials: County Facilities Department, Compliance Specialist - Robert Boyett
Dear Concerned Parties;
I have reviewed the document you produced and published. I find it nearly unbearable and quite biased. Persons with disabilities are not always represented in wheelchairs, and to depict them as such leads to stereotyping that then leads to ignorance in the community. Further, it is only a small percent of persons with disabilities that require wheelchairs, and all of the photos represented and all of the accommodations you mention are dedicated to this small percent of the disabled population. Ironically while you were producing this document I a brain injured person was attempting to use this very same facility, and deemed of poor moral character and told to go “take my medications”. As you see evidenced in DO 2000-0306, a case where this disabled person has been trying to access that same court for the last 7 years. Every attempt however, leads me closer to my own arrest. Please see writings at blogit.com there is a ongoing journal of this experience published and protected by copyright there. The pleadings and documents now being viewed by a larger audience are still intended as instruments to access the courts and at the same time are being published under the name “Harvardgirl” on blogit.com and on two other web sites which are quite popular. Each day the web sites are viewed by at least 187-200 people to see what has happened. And there is quite a large audience building waiting to see what will happen next, and if or when Yavapai County will actually every acknowledge the rights of this disabled parent, or if and when it will continue as it presently is going and she will end up arrested because she has dared to assert her right to leave an abusive marriage. Well those good old boys over there in Yavapai County have managed to keep this little filly contained so far, but we all know that just can not continue for long! You see, this writer understands fully the way that good old boy system works, and she understands it so well, that she has taken the time to write you this here letter to let you know that that document you published is biased, and so is your Commissioner of family law- there is only one way to rid a community of social and economic discrimination of the poor and the disabled- and that is to educate them. So, please review that document again, it promotes a dangerous standard, where people have to “look” disabled in order for those folks up there in Yavapai County to acknowledge them under the ADA. This is a stereotype a community can not afford to promote.
The stereotypes that exist regarding the abilities of the disabled persons extend far beyond your imagination I assure you, they are among the most under-employed and least likely to access goods and services, including access to courts. Most of them live in poverty, and struggle to survive, and some like myself have the misfortune of having a hidden disability that when aggravated makes me look like a lunatic. (Brain damage can look that way sometimes). The point is your representation, of the population in this report, that requires accommodation, and support is both biased and presents a stereotype that paints all disabled people in wheelchairs. This is neither true nor responsible.
Very Warm regards,
Tammie L Anderson
College of Public Programs
Arizona State University
School of Social Work
PO Box 7481
Tempe, AZ
85281
CC
Judge Brutinel
Honorable Rhonda Repp