Judge Demands ADA Compliancy for Wheelchair-Bound Defendant Following Transport Delay

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Attempted murder defendant Arnold Jackson, 54, received an August trial date before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland on July 1. The scheduling hearing came a day after counsel failed to notify the court that Jackson required an ambulance for transportation to the courthouse.

Jackson requires a wheelchair for mobility.

“Nobody informed me that an ambulance needed to bring Mr. Jackson in nor did anyone inform me that he needed an ADA-compliant courtroom,” said Judge Copeland.

Jackson is charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder and assault, firearm use in a violent crime and reckless endangerment, as well as several related firearm charges in connection to a March 2023 shooting on the 1600 block of E. Eutaw Place.

Jackson, who is reportedly known to struggle with mental health issues, was captured on surveillance cameras near the incident area and in the lobby of his apartment complex on the 1000 block of Cathedral Street, riding a burgundy electric scooter with about 10 plastic bags on the handlebars. Footage recovered from his apartment lobby also captured him exiting the elevator on a wheelchair and entering the lobby with a revolver in his lap.

Video evidence includes footage from Bolton House Apartments, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and Baltimore CitiWatch cameras.

A witness who saw Jackson armed with a handgun said Jackson approached them about 30 minutes after the shooting and said, “Watch the news tonight. I just laid two motherf—ers out.”

Judge Copeland ultimately set a four-day trial to begin Aug. 4 before Judge Catherine Chen in an accessible courtroom. The case overlaps with 37-year-old Donald Blackwell’s trial date of Aug. 6.