Deaf News: Deaf Australian campaigner loses fight to serve on jury

Posted on September 1, 2015 by



Extract from the Brisbane Times:

A woman hoping to be Australia’s first deaf juror has lost a legal bid in Queensland’s highest court.

Gaye Prudence Lyons, who can lip read but requires an Auslan interpreter to communicate, claimed she was discriminated against after being excluded from an Ipswich District Court jury in 2012.

It sparked a three-year legal battle that has been through numerous Queensland courts and tribunals, with Ms Lyons suing the state government in the Supreme Court of Appeal.

However in a verdict handed down on Friday, three appeal judges found that it was within the law for Ms Lyons to be left off the jury by a court registrar.

It comes after a similar case in Victoria, where a 34-year-old man was excluded from jury duty.

Earlier this year, Ms Lyons said her campaign to serve on the jury was “to break down barriers and have equal opportunities for the deaf community”.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/deaf-campaigner-gaye-lyons-loses-bid-to-serve-on-queensland-jury-20150831-gjbua0.html#ixzz3kQF26DOT

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Posted in: deaf news