A “reasonable accommodation” means that court personnel will try to work with you to provide access to court facilities, processes, or events. This may be a change or modification in policies, procedures, or practices that are necessary to provide equal access to the courthouse or court processes for a person with a disability. Depending on the circumstances, the reasonable accommodation you receive may not be your first choice of accommodation.

Every county courthouse has a local Disability Access Coordinator who is responsible for coordinating accommodations. You or your attorney may contact your county's DAC at [email protected]. For example, if your court event is in Wake County, contact [email protected]. Another way to contact your local DAC is by completing the online Disability Access Request Form. The online form will send an email with your request details to your county’s DAC and a confirmation of your request to your email.

Please make your request for a disability access accommodation to the court as soon as possible so that arrangements can be made, preferably at least two weeks before your court date because some accommodations take time to schedule.

You or your attorney can request a reasonable accommodation for your participation in a court event by contacting your county’s DAC in person, over the phone, by letter, email, or by completing the online Disability Access Request Form. The online form will send an email with your request details to your county DAC and a confirmation of your request to your email.

You will need to tell court personnel that you have a disability and describe your individual needs as a result. If your disability is not obvious, you may need to provide a note from your healthcare provider explaining your needs. The statewide protocol recommends that you provide the disability access coordinator with the following information:

1. County in which assistance is needed
2. Name and contact information for the individual needing assistance
3. Whether the individual needing assistance is the plaintiff, defendant, juror, witness, or court observer
4. Case file number
5. Date and time of hearing or other judicial activity
6. If applicable, the name, phone number, and email of the attorney representing the individual
7. Explanation of the nature of the disability
8. Exact type of reasonable accommodation(s) needed

No. You should explain to court personnel that you have a disability and any specific needs that you have.  If you need a note from your healthcare provider, the note does not have to say what your disability is, but it does have to explain how it affects you. For example, if you have diabetes, your note can say that you have a disability that requires you to eat regularly on a strict schedule. It is up to you whether you ask your healthcare provider to name your disability or not.

Disability Rights North Carolina provides legal assistance to people with disabilities in some situations. You can view resources for common issues faced by people with disabilities here. You can view additional resources for many areas of law commonly faced by people unable to hire an attorney here. See the Finding an Attorney Help Topic for information about finding a private or nonprofit attorney to assist you with your case.

Use the online Disability Access Request Form or contact your local Disability Access Coordinator directly to request an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI), Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services, cued speech transliterator or other reasonable accommodations that would best meet your needs.

The first major difference is that ASL interpreters are typically hearing individuals whereas CDIs are born deaf or hard of hearing. ASL interpreters must go through extensive training to become professional interpreters for the Deaf community. CDIs, on the other hand, are already part of the Deaf community and have a strong sense of Deaf culture as a result of their upbringing. They are certified to provide interpreting services to Deaf consumers who may have linguistic impairments that prevent them from fully utilizing a traditional ASL interpreter. Second, for most ASL interpreters, ASL is their second language whereas it is the native language of CDIs. Because CDIs are native sign language communicators and part of the Deaf community, they can communicate more easily and clearly with Deaf individuals. CDIs specialize in the use of interpreting, gestures, miming, incorporating props, drawings and other tools to provide detailed deaf communication. As ASL interpreters are focused on interpreting spoken language into sign language, their signing may not always be as accurate. As a result, ASL interpreters and CDIs often work in tandem to produce more accurate interpretation. The ASL interpreter will interpret the spoken language into ASL for the CDI, who then interprets it for the Deaf individual. In turn, the Deaf individual will sign to the CDI, who interprets into ASL for the ASL interpreter, who then interprets into the spoken language.

You are guaranteed the right of access to court proceedings. However, some older courthouses were built before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, and may not be 100% accessible. For this reason, you should discuss your disability-related needs with your attorney or court personnel as early as you can. With appropriate notice, court personnel can ensure that court is held in a location that is accessible to you.

Yes. You will generally need to go through a metal detector on entering the courthouse and may need to explain any devices that could cause an alarm.

Yes. You can bring medications to court and take them during a recess, or step outside the courtroom to take them while other cases are being handled as long as you are available when your case is called. If you may need to take medications while your case is being handled, you should tell your attorney in advance. If you do not have an attorney, let the judge know when your case begins. When it comes time to take your medication, tell your attorney or respectfully let the judge know that you need to take a break.

You can bring medications including controlled substances to court if necessary. It may be helpful to ensure that you bring the prescription bottle with a label showing that the medication has been prescribed to you in case of any confusion. If your medication may affect your ability to testify, you should explain this to your lawyer in advance, or to the judge when you are called to testify. If your medication may affect your behavior while in court, you should discuss this with the Disability Access Coordinator in advance, or let the bailiff know in the courtroom.

Service animals are permitted to go wherever their handler goes, including courtrooms and other areas of the courthouse. Court personnel may ask you two questions to determine if your service animal meets the legal requirements for access: 1) Are you a person with a disability? and 2) What work or tasks does the animal perform for you? Court personnel can also ask you if the service animal is registered with the North Carolina service animal registry. If you have not registered your animal, this does not affect your ability to bring the animal to court. If your service animal interrupts court proceedings, the judge can order that the service animal be removed from the courtroom.

An emotional support animal (sometimes called therapy animals or assistance animals) are animals that help with the symptoms of a disability, but have not been individually trained as a service animal. These animals may be able to come to court on a case-by-case basis. You or your attorney should contact the courts about this accommodation in advance. Be prepared to explain how your emotional support animal would help you remain calm or otherwise assist you during court proceedings. Court personnel may need to meet the animal to observe its behavior and determine if it will interrupt court proceedings before agreeing to this accommodation.

The courts do not provide written transcripts. If your hearing was in civil district or superior court or in criminal superior court, there will be an audio recording of the hearing. You can request the recording for a fee. Private court reporters can make an official transcript of the recording.  A list of approved Court Reporters may be found here.

Once a judge has made a decision, it can be overturned only by filing a motion to set aside the decision or through an appeal. An attorney can advise you about the best way to challenge a particular decision. You also have the right to file a complaint with the Judicial Standards Commission if you believe a judge has behaved unethically. Local Disability Access Coordinators, other court personnel, and the Administrative Office of the Courts staff cannot change a judge’s decision once it is made.

You should contact your local Disability Access Coordinator in your county. If not, you can explain your needs to court personnel.

You or your attorney should respectfully explain your needs to the judge and contact your local Disability Access Coordinator if necessary.

If you requested an accommodation from staff at your courthouse and your request was denied, you can follow the NCAOC’s Grievance Procedure and contact the Court Programs Division at (919) 890-1212 or [email protected].  Please be aware that if you contact the NCAOC without first discussing your request with staff at your local courthouse, you will be directed to contact your local Disability Access Coordinator or other local court personnel first.