August 16, 2016 (NEW YORK/NEW ORLEANS) – Proskauer partner Russell Hirschhorn and associates Madeline Rea and Robert Sheppard are serving, pro bono, as lead counsel in a class action lawsuit on behalf of probationers and parolees who are deaf or hard of hearing, against the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections (LDPSC) and its secretary, James LeBlanc. The lawsuit, filed by the Advocacy Center, Proskauer and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, alleges violations of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The LDPSC has routinely denied qualified interpreters and other effective auxiliary aids to probationers and parolees who are deaf or hard of hearing during required classes and meetings with probation and parole officers. Instead, the LDPSC often relies on prisoners and family members to try to interpret for them, requires them to try to communicate verbally or in writing, or has insisted they pay for their own interpreters.

The three men who comprise the class are deaf or have very limited hearing. Each of them uses American Sign Language as their primary language and has difficulty understanding spoken or written English. The men repeatedly told their parole officers that they could not understand and requested interpreters for meetings and classes, but the LDPSC failed to provide them with effective assistance. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are requesting that the LDPSC provide interpreters and otherwise ensure that probationers and parolees who are deaf or hard of hearing are able to communicate effectively; that it train parole and probation officers about issues that impact these individuals; and that it retain an independent monitor to measure compliance.

“This case is about the importance of ensuring access to justice for everyone, especially the most vulnerable and forgotten. No one and no institution is above the law,” said Russell Hirschhorn.

Please click here to view a copy of the filed complaint.