Available AccomModations
If you need an accommodation in order to participate in a court program held at the capitol complex, you must contact the Clerk's Office no less than two business days (not including Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays) in advance. You may contact the Clerk's Office by calling Peggy Spradling at (304) 558-2601 (telephone) or (304) 558-4219 (TTY); or by writing to Peggy Spradling at: peggy.spradling@courtswv.org (e-mail) or at Building 1, Room E-317, Kanawha Boulevard, E., Charleston, WV 25305-0832 (regular mail).
* Note: If you have a case or will be participating in an action in a circuit court, magistrate court, or family court and need an accommodation, please contact the magistrate or circuit court clerk in that county for information on how to obtain the needed accommodation.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. It also applies to the United States Congress.
To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability or have a relationship or association with an individual with a disability. An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such impairment. The ADA does not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered.
The Americans with Disabilities Act assures equal access to justice for people who are deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired. Courts must work closely with interpreters, parties, and witnesses to determine effective communication methods.
Information for Persons With Disabilities
Auxiliary Aids Available
Auxiliary aids and services necessary for effective communication or to enable participation in services, other than devices of a personal nature, are to be provided at no cost to persons with disabilities. The court is responsible for providing the accommodation and paying the costs.
Examples of auxiliary aids and services that benefit individuals with hearing impairments include
- qualified interpreters
- note-takers
- computer-aided transcription services
- written materials
- assistive listening systems
- closed caption decoders
- open and closed captioning
- telecommunications devices for deaf persons (TDDs)
- real-time transcription
- exchange of written notes.
Examples of auxiliary aids and services that benefit individuals who are blind or visually impaired include providing
- better lighting
- a location with better lighting
- adjusting lighting
- taped text
- qualified readers (individuals or electronic readers)
- materials in Braille
- large print materials
- materials in electronic format on compact discs or in e-mails
- audio recordings
Accommodations available while visiting the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
- There is an assistive listening device in the courtroom, which, as its name implies, will assist persons who are hard-of-hearing with hearing the court proceedings. It is an FM system. Users have a choice of earphones or a neckloop (the neckloop may be used by persons who have hearing aids equipped with a telecoil).
- The Court has a wheelchair on the premises for people who have difficulty walking far distances. Please alert the Clerk's Office in advance if you need someone to meet you in the parking lot with the wheelchair.
- Other accommodations (such as sign language interpreters, real-time reporting, enlarging printed materials or providing printed materials in Braille) will be provided upon request if such request is reasonable.
