Deaf couple denied marriage license; seeks help

On the 10th anniversary of the day they met, Joel Alfaro and Yusela Machado Silvente were dressed up and ready to become husband and wife when they visited the Duval County Clerk of Circuit Court's office in October 2021, and called again in August 2022, to receive their marriage license.

To the couple’s dismay, the Duval County Clerk of Circuit Court's office denied Joel and Yusela, who are both deaf, their marriage license because they didn’t bring a sign language interpreter with them to the clerk's office. This is a clear violation of their rights, specifically the Americans with Disabilities Act.

As disappointed as they were to be turned away on their special day, the couple's sadness only deepened when numerous attempts to figure out what they actually needed to do before they could say 'I do.'

A year later, the Clerk of Circuit Court in Duval County still hasn't issued the couple a marriage license, so Joel and Yusela have yet to get married.

The couple has now filed a lawsuit against the Circuit Court of Duval County and Clerk of Circuit Court Jody Phillips in an effort to ensure that other deaf couples aren't faced with the same unnecessary challenges they have endured.

The couple is represented by John Phillips of Phillips & Hunt, Mary C. Vargas and Michael S. Stein of Stein & Vargas, LLP and Marc Charmatz of the National Association of the Deaf.

This fund is to help them with the costs of the lawsuit and to help them get married.