Accessibility issues make good citizenship almost impossible 

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I am sure 1857 was a really good year to build a courthouse. But nearly 170 years later, it is time to admit that the Dukes County courthouse is no longer a public building — no air conditioning, no modern electronic communication systems, and most importantly, failure to ensure that it is an accessible public building. 

Just because the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not require making the Dukes County courthouse an accessible public building does not make it right that citizens, even citizens with mobility issues, cannot safely use this public building. 

Earlier this year, I was summoned to the courthouse for jury duty. I was able to park in a handicap-designated parking spot behind the building — one designated spot near the back of the building.

I was able to use my push roller cart to make my way slowly up the back ramp, turn, and continue on toward the door. It was 9:05 am — more than half an hour after the court opened — and the door was locked. Fortunately, when I knocked, a very polite uniformed gentleman opened the door. Then the process began. He led me to a lift that would make it possible for me to rise above the ground floor to the courtroom. The device seats one person, and then rises to the next floor. A roller cart or wheelchair must be managed by an employee and taken to the second floor. When I got on, the lift did not work.

Again and again the staff person tried to get the lift to work. The person sitting in the lift cannot operate the device. The lift blocks the walkway, so clients, attorneys, and court officials must wait. 

Finally it worked, and I could then use my roller cart and make my way to the official front-door security check-in. I passed inspection, so we made our way, the staff person and I, to the courtroom, where I would be seated for the next 90 minutes. 

The courtroom passageways from the door to the seating area are narrow — too narrow for a wheelchair. And there are steps to seats above the floor level, but it is otherwise impossible to access in a cart or wheelchair. I managed to sit in the first row of chairs, with my cart in front of me, blocking the walkway for others. 

After the official introductions, the videotape, and the judge telling us about the case we would hear if selected for the jury, it was suggested that this would be a good time to use the bathrooms. There were probably 60 people in the courtroom. About a dozen women went through the doorway to queue up for the bathroom, and three or four men. One bathroom for men, one bathroom for women. 

When the men had used the bathroom, I asked if the men’s room might be used for women, and was told, politely, that that usually was not allowed. Eventually, it was my turn for the bathroom, and I headed into the room with the sign “Men.” But the doorway to the single-toilet bathroom is too narrow for a roller cart or a wheelchair — too narrow for a citizen to safely use the bathroom, in a public building. So very carefully — holding onto the sink — I made my way to the toilet. Fortunately my roller cart in the hallway was awaiting my return when I finished.

Back to the courtroom, and the lengthy wait for my sidebar discussion with the judge and four attorneys. I was excused from jury duty because I had a doctor’s appointment that could not be rescheduled or canceled. I could have opted out of jury duty because of my age (79), or health conditions requiring portable oxygen, but I wanted to be a jurist — I wanted to be a good citizen. 

And so it was back to the lift. After numerous attempts to make it work, I got out of the lift and slowly made my way down the steep staircase, with a staff person behind me and another gentleman waiting on the stairs below to be sure I could make my way safely. No one using portable oxygen should have been required to exert the effort to walk down those stairs.

People with mobility issues are as much of the public as anyone, and deserve a public building that shows them the respect the public deserves. It is extremely lacking at the Edgartown courthouse.

Susan Silk was a print and broadcast journalist for decades. Now a retiree, she volunteers to help nonprofits effectively communicate important issues.