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Candidate Name: Ellen Gesmer

Contact Person: Ellen Gesmer, or Arthur Greig, campaign manager

If there is a Campaign office, is it wheelchair accessible? Not applicable.

Endorsements: (Political, Community & Labor) None, so far. When I ran for Civil Court, I was proud to have been endorsed by you, and by Met Council on Housing

1. Please describe any experience with disability you have had in your life or career.

   In my private practice, I represented many individuals with severe mental health disabilities. For example, I represented a woman with multiple personality disorder who had been molested by her psychiatrist. I obtained an extremely favorable settlement for her against the psychiatrist. We have remained close friends, and I have observed that, in part thanks to the settlement, she has received the services necessary to enable her to work successfully in her career.

    

2. How will you incorporate people with disabilities into your campaign?

   As a judicial candidate, my campaign will be minimal, but I certainly will make clear that any person with disabilities is welcome and encouraged to work in my campaign.

    

3. If you are in private practice, is your office accessible to people with disabilities? If not, what have you done to ensure access?

   When I was in practice, my office was accessible to people with disabilities.

    

4. Is the courthouse in which you work accessible to people with all kinds of disabilities?

   Yes.

    

5. Has a person with a disability appeared before your court as a juror or litigant? If so, please indicate what, if any, challenges arose? And how were they handled?

   Yes. In one case, a litigant with advanced multiple sclerosis found it difficult to speak loudly, so I sat directly in front of her, on the other side of the counsel table, so that she could speak without strain.

    

6. Do you believe that a person who is deaf / hard of hearing or one who is blind/or has low vision can serve as a juror? Why or why not?

   Yes. The court can make appropriate accommodations so that the person with limited hearing or sight can have access to the testimony and exhibits.

    

7. Are you willing to hire either on a job share or full time basis, a qualified law clerk/secretary with a disability?

   Yes.

    

8. How will you work within the court structure to assure the accessibility of all facilities of the courts? For example, will you participate in the Committee for People with Disabilities, relevant training opportunities?

   I would be delighted to serve on such a committee.

    

9. How would you act when the family of a person with physical or cognitive disabilities attempts to control their assets?

   I would advise them that, unless the person is found to be in need of a guardian pursuant to statute, the person is entitled to control his or her own assets.

    

Date: June 2, 2010

Printer-friendly version of this questionnaire
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For other candidates running for Judicial positions, go to the Questionnaires section