Day In Court

This morning I had an appointment on the 16th floor of the Ramsey County Courthouse. I love this art deco building. This was a family appointment; not a criminal case. I don't want anyone to think I am a criminal. I am sure plenty of criminals come into this building though. I was greeted on the sidewalk by a bevy of teachers from the Saint Paul school district walking with picket signs and singing songs. Cars honked (in support of the strike I think) as they whizzed by on Kellogg Boulevard.

Despite the sensory overload of my approach to the building, my appointment went well. I heard about other probate cases. I heard one sad story of an uncle taking guardianship of his niece. The poor niece is 27 years old and could not understand what was going on because she is deaf and mute. Her mother died. She lives with her grandmother and uncle. Her father and step-mother live in New Zealand. Although she knows some Burmese sign language from the time she spent in a refugee camp and she can write in Burmese, she does not know any American sign language. The judge was rightly concerned about this and hoped she could go to some training in American sign language.How sad is that she got more services in communication in a refugee camp in Thailand than she does in Saint Paul? She is lucky to have an uncle to take her under his wing but also unlucky to be so isolated and unable to communicate. I would think they could have had an American sign language interpreter there for her. Even if she couldn't understand all of what was said she might have picked up on some of it. Plus having an interpreter there for her would have shown her that she was an important person in the court room today. All my current problems and issues seem small in comparison to hers. Eavesdropping on her guardianship hearing gave me a much needed perspective.