Disabled L.I. Lawyer Says Court Frowned on Her Service Dog

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- A disabled lawyer has received an apology after being asked to wait outside the courtroom with her service dog, 1010 WINS has learned.

Jeanie Waters, who is quadriplegic, negotiated a client's plea deal in a hallway after traffic-violations officials were loath to let her service dog, into the courtroom, she said.

Traffic officials confirmed the attorney ended up conducting business in the hall, but they said she was offered the choice of waiting for the courtroom instead.

Waters said Nassau County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency employees refused to let her golden retriever, Elli, in the courtroom Tuesday night. State law prohibits barring disabled people and their service dogs from public areas.

Traffic violations agency officials said Waters wasn't denied access to the courtroom, but rather asked to wait until the courtroom was less crowded or to work in the hallway instead.

"People with special needs are accommodated at court. We ask them what works and we help them,'' said county traffic safety director Pat Reilly. "We gave her two options - she chose to be seen in the hall.''

The traffic violations agency's chief deputy director, David Rich, said officials thought the dog might feel confined, or people might fear it, in the full waiting room.

To Waters, however, "It's the idea of being able to get into a courthouse in the State of New York - it should never be denied to anyone.''

Waters, 48, suffered a spinal cord injury while fixing a car in 1984 and has muscular dystrophy. Elli has worked with her for seven years.

The 9-year-old dog pulls the lawyer's wheelchair, holds her briefcase, collects items she drops, and helps her up or gets help if she falls, Waters said. She said Elli has been to other courthouses and jails and even to the traffic violations agency on previous occasions, Waters said.

"People joke that Elli does the plea bargaining for me,'' said Waters, 48, of Rockville Centre. "We go everywhere. It would be like saying: leave your wheelchair home and crawl in.''

Waters was given an apology from the department and was promised it would never happen again, 1010 WINS reported.

Photo above of Waters with Elli taken by 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera.

1010 WINS Boroughs and 'Burbs pages: Long Island

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