The Tuolumne County Courthouse is a historical landmark, I think it would be very odd going through town if it wasn't there. It was also built a long time ago. I say a long time because I have no urge to be accurate on it's age, that isn't the point I wish to dwell on. What I wish to talk about is it's unacceptable inaccessibility. Yes I know others have talked about it which is why there is a lot of quote, "politically loaded questions".  There are plans on the table to build a new Law Center which may or may not begin in 4 years.

In the meantime, the courthouse has only one accessible court room. Everything else is either on the second or third floors, except for the little one down the street. There are two handicapped parking spots, behind the main courthouse and if you are lucky enough to find one empty, it is a really tight squeeze to get in and out of, then you have to roll all the way around to the front, locked door and ring the buzzer to be let in. The whole thing is a pain in the rear but is the only solution for a building that was built when people died more easily and those that survived and couldn't walk were shut away at home to finish living.

Every year I recieve a Jury Summons. I do not want to get a doctor's excuse to permanenty get out of Jury Duty, mostly because there is nothing wrong with my brain but also because every time I speak up, it brings the issue of accessability back to the front of people's minds. Every time I either have to go to court or am called for Jury Duty, I file a form for ADA access and I will tell you which form, where to get it and how to file it in a sec. First I want to say is that you have a right to accommidations in the court system. The people who work in the law library on the first floor can be a huge help but you must ask for it. They will help you get access to the clerk's office which is on the second floor by running papers back and forth and will even print out forms for a modest fee (bring a good handfull of change. If you get Jury Duty, you can call the office number and tell them you want access and they will send you the form but it can take awhile before it comes in the mail and you should file the ADA form as quickly as possible because it must be reviewed and signed or rejected by a judge and judges are extremely busy.

Now for the nitty gritty down to earth information: The form that you want is - mc-410 . It is actually a simple form, takes maybe 5-10 min. to complete. Keep a copy for yourself before you file it and sticky note it the day it was filed. They will either call you or send you a letter once a judge makes a ruling on it. You can get the ADA form here .

All right enough on that subject, beware, I have been fighting an extreme urge to do a silly monologue so if I lose that fight and throw out a nonsense posting, forgive and ignore if you don't like that sort of thing.

What's for dinner? Don't know! I just told my daughter, Elmo to grab something from the store on her way home from school. (Delegation is the key to breaking the extreme boredom of cooking and cleaning up.)