Deaf judge makes impression

CIBOLO — As unhappy-looking defendants fill the municipal court here and prepare to plead their cases, most don’t know that Judge Marion T. Carson won’t hear a word they say. He may be the only totally deaf presiding judge in the state, although the State Bar of Texas said it doesn’t track judges with disabilities.

At SAC’s American Sign Language and Interpreter Training Program, “the professors were great and taught me how to sign (use sign language) and read lips and use my other senses more. It took me about four years to get pretty good at lip reading and using sign language,” Carson said.

As a hearing person for the first 63 years of his life, Carson found the adjustment a challenge. But he said his training at St. Mary’s Law School and a long trial career helped him adapt to a world of silence.

“My deafness is a blessing in one way because it has taught me to look at people when I talk to them,” Carson said. “I have to look at them to read their lips but I read a lot more in their face.

“You would be surprised at the feelings and depth of a person you can see when you really look at them and their gestures while talking to them. When I speak to hearing people, I suggest they try just one hour really looking at people when they talking to them so they can really see things. It is amazing.” read more