While many Australians go to great lengths to avoid serving on a jury, Brent Phillips has spent nearly a decade fighting for his right to take part in his civic duty.
The 43-year-old father of two is part of the Deaf community and Auslan is his first language.
In 2014, he was selected for jury duty in his home state of Victoria.
"I was quite excited to be honest, I have a legal background, and I have qualifications in criminology," he said.
But once the courts found out Mr Phillips was deaf he was excluded from service, even though he wanted to participate.
"At the moment a deaf person can be a defendant," he said.
"They can be a witness. But they can't sit on a jury, and that's not fair.
"It doesn't allow the deaf person have the right to a fair trial by their peers."
Since Mr Phillips was excluded from jury service in Victoria, nothing has changed.
Advocacy group Deaf Victoria said it had supported a number of Victorians who had been selected for jury service but then excluded because of a lack of available supports.
That's despite advocacy on the issue from all around the country — including a failed High Court challenge from Queensland deaf woman Gaye Lyons.
The United Nations has also found the failure of Australian courts to provide Auslan interpreters violated the rights of deaf people.
Evidence shows that people with sensory disabilities can participate effectively as jurors if the right supports are in place, but most Australian jurisdictions are yet to introduce legal reform to facilitate this.
Anecdotally, many with disabilities are excluded from jury service at an early stage, including people who are blind or have low vision.
"With appropriate supports and reasonable adjustments, people who are blind or have low vision can also serve effectively as jurors in most situations," Vision Australia policy advisor Bruce Maguire said.
"We call on all governments to ensure that these supports are legislated and implemented."
Most Australian courts don't allow an interpreter in the jury room
One of the key issues in Australia is the common law principle that prevents a 13th person — like an interpreter or a support person — from being in the jury room during deliberations.
The ACT became the first Australian jurisdiction to introduce reform in this area in 2018.
The new provisions allow the judge to make directions to provide a juror with reasonable supports and allow an extra person in the jury room.
"Reasonable supports" might include an Auslan interpreter, disability aid, support person or assistance animal.
These provisions were used for the first time in late 2022 during a trial in the ACT Supreme Court.
Overseas in America and New Zealand, deaf people routinely serve as jurors, while the United Kingdom also introduced reforms in 2021.
Australia is now lagging behind Commonwealth countries with comparable court systems on this issue, despite local evidence which has shown that people who are deaf or hard of hearing can effectively participate as jurors.
What's it like to serve as a deaf juror?
In 2014, a group of international and local researchers, including Australian Catholic University law professor David Spencer, set up a mock trial to examine the practicalities of selecting a deaf juror.
Professor Spencer said this trial, and previous research by Australian researchers, had tested the comprehension and logistics of allowing deaf people to serve on juries and proved that it was possible.
"There is this myth that deaf people, you know, can't comprehend complex legal issues, and factual issues, as well as a hearing person. And we just blew that out of the water," he said.
The mock trial had real prosecutors, real lawyers, genuine police informants and was presided over by a recently retired judge in a real courtroom in Parramatta.
Alex Jones, who is part of the Deaf community, served on the jury in the mock trial.
He said he was initially apprehensive the judge or other jurors might be patronising towards him, but it turned out to be a very positive experience.
"After the first day, everything ran really smoothly, there was no doubts, no awkwardness," he said.
"I had value to provide to the deliberations, I was an active part of them."
"I felt empowered as a deaf person, and it just shows that it is possible."
Mr Jones said there were things to learn about how to manage interpreters in the courts, like the importance of the judge giving strict instructions, for example, for other jurors not to speak to the interpreter directly.
"Like you wouldn't go and have a side conversation with the judge, for example, it's just not appropriate," he said.
"A similar concept needs to be applied to the interpreter who's employed."
Mr Jones said another thing to consider was that he was not really able to make notes, because he has to watch the interpreter to avoid missing when something was said.
"We need to look at how we can work with our peers on the jury," he said.
"I was like, would you mind taking notes? Because I need to watch the interpreter."
Victoria's government considers proposed reform
In Victoria, the law reform commission has completed a body of work examining what changes would need to be made to make juries more inclusive to people with disabilities.
It has now finished its report, which has been sitting with the state government for nine months and is still yet to be made public.
The Victorian government said it was reviewing the report before considering any reforms.
In consultations, the Law Institute Victoria was supportive of proposed changes but also stressed any changes to make juries more inclusive must not impact the right to a fair trial.
Barrister Sally Flynn KC, who is also the vice chair of Victoria's Criminal Bar Association, said it would be important for support people, like interpreters, to take an oath or an affirmation that they are not participating in jury deliberations.
"If there was a case where there was visual identification evidence, or audio identification evidence that was important, it may be inappropriate for someone who has either low vision or are hard of hearing to be able to participate in that trial process," she said.
"The judge should have the overarching power to decide whether it is appropriate in those circumstances."
For Brent Phillips, there is growing hope that years of advocacy from the Deaf community and others may see his home state of Victoria allow people like him to serve on a jury.
"It would show how far we've come as a society in having a deaf person on the jury," he said.
Note: The upper case form of Deaf is used to signal a shared community with a shared language.
