The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability. The ADA does not apply to the federal judiciary. However, under Judicial Conference policy, federal courts provide reasonable accommodations to persons with communications disabilities. If accommodations are necessary due to a physical disability, the court will work with the General Services Administration to provide necessary physical accommodations at courthouse facilities.
Communication Disabilities:
Under Judicial Conference policy, Bankruptcy Courts are responsible for providing interpreter services for judicial proceedings as well as communications between counsel and the parties when the bankruptcy proceeding is instituted by the United States, or a party has a hearing impairment (whether or not also suffering from a speech impairment).
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Georgia has designated the individuals below to serve as the Court’s Communication Access Coordinators, pursuant to The Guide to Judiciary Policy, Vol. 5, § 255.40 (available at http://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/judiciary-policies/court-interpreting-guidance).
April Rowe, Courtroom Deputy
All cases assigned to Chief Judge Michele J. Kim
Courthouses located in Brunswick and Waycross
Jacqueline Bauknight, Courtroom Deputy
All cases assigned to the Honorable Susan D. Barrett
Courthouses located in Augusta and Dublin
Jacqueline_W_Bauknight@gas.uscourts.gov
Elizabeth Bonnani, Courtroom Deputy
All cases assigned to the Honorable Edward J. Coleman, III
Courthouses located in Savannah and Statesboro
Elizabeth_Bonnani@gas.uscourts.gov
The Communication Access Coordinators are responsible for coordinating sign language interpreters or other appropriate auxiliary aids and services to participants in bankruptcy judicial proceedings who are deaf, hearing-impaired, or have other communications disabilities. Individuals participating in bankruptcy court proceedings who require the assistance of a qualified sign language interpreter or other similar auxiliary aides and services must submit requests for services in advance of the court proceeding involved. The Bankruptcy Court does not provide foreign language interpreters.
If a communications disability is not obvious, you may attach documentation from an appropriate health care or rehabilitation professional that is sufficient to substantiate the disability and the need for the auxiliary aids and services requested. Documentation is sufficient if it: (1) Describes the nature, severity, and duration of the applicant’s communication disability, the activity or activities that the disability limits, and the extent to which the disability limits the applicant’s ability to perform the activity or activities; and (2) Substantiates why the requested auxiliary aids and services are needed.
Please submit all requests for services via email to the appropriate Courtroom Deputy named above.
Physical Disabilities:
Anyone who requires an accommodation at a courthouse location because of a physical disability should contact the appropriate Courtroom Deputy listed above. Please provide a description of the accommodations requested, the building location, and a description of the disability that necessitates the accommodations.
Matters Pending Before the Court:
In providing accommodations to a person with a disability, the Communication Access Coordinators will not offer any legal advice nor engage in any ex parte communication with a litigant concerning any aspect of a case. If a litigant wishes to assert that a disability has or may have an impact on the merits of a case, the litigant should communicate that information in an appropriate filing with the court.