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, but under Judicial Conference policy, we provide reasonable accommodations for communications disabilities.  If accommodations are necessary due to a physical disability, the court will work with the General Services Administration to provide reasonable physical accommodations at courthouse facilities. 

Communication Disabilities: 

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has designated a team of persons to serve as Communication Access Coordinators. They are responsible for coordinating sign language interpreters or other appropriate auxiliary aids and services to participants in federal court proceedings who are deaf, hearing-impaired, or have other communication disabilities.  Individuals participating in federal court proceedings, including potential jurors, 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. Please submit all requests for services via email to AccessCoordinator@txed.uscourts.gov. (If you are unable to submit the request by email, you may call Jennifer Meismer-House at (903) 590-1032.)

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(ies) 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.

Physical Disabilities: 

Anyone who requires an accommodation at a courthouse location because of a physical disability should email AccessCoordinator@txed.uscourts.gov and provide descriptions of the disability and the accommodations requested.

Matters Pending Before the Court: 

In providing accommodations to a person with a disability, the Communication Access Coordinators may not engage in 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.