Clear Communication in Courtrooms Is Essential.

• Author: Steel, Iain

Clear communication in courtrooms and attorney conference rooms is essential to ensure all parties understand and are understood. In courtrooms, attorneys and clients may be seated in designated areas, apart from one another, making it difficult to share confidential information. One or more individuals might wear a hearing aid, cochlear implant or other device intended to amplify the audio. Face masks and physical distance requirements intended to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 further impact speech intelligibility in these situations. In some instances, there might also be language barriers requiring interpretation.

Assistive listening solutions can help in each of these scenarios. There are several technologies that can be used in and outside the courtroom.

INFRARED TECHNOLOGY IN THE COURTROOM

One type of assistive listening uses infrared (IR) technology (think of a TV remote and the beam of light emitted from a handheld remote to the TV). IR audio distribution in the courtroom is preferred in several countries because it is secure. The audio signal from a microphone or a playback device such as an audio recorder is sent to a transmitter, which transmits the audio signal to small, portable receivers that Users wear on a lanyard around their neck. The court or their legal counsel typically provide the receivers. For those with hearing aids with a telecoil or cochlear implants, a neck loop can be used to send the signal directly to their hearing aid.

IR technology delivers clear, intelligible sound to listeners. They can adjust the volume on receivers to meet their needs. Unlike induction loop sound systems that use an electromagnetic signal to send audio to hearing aids and require significant construction or retrofitting of spaces and enable people outside the looped room to listen in, IR assistive listening systems can be set up quickly without disruption to architecture and without worry that hearings and private conversations will spill over into adjacent courtrooms. Confidentiality is assured because IR light cannot travel through walls.

In the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK), IR assistive listening systems typically are deployed in individual courtrooms and tribunal hearing rooms, with signage promoting their availability.The receivers and lanyards are easy to sanitize before and after use, and they charge quickly in a portable tray. Systems are universal in design and intuitive so users can benefit from them quickly...