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The Justice System
Speak Up brought together a number of professionals to discuss
current service gaps and recommendations to provide AAC users with access
to the justice system in Ontario.
Focus Group Members
Service Needs
Guidelines
Resources for The Justice System:
Focus Group Members [Top]
Elise Nakelsky |
Assistant Crown Attorney. Ministry of Attorney General |
Fiona Sampson |
Human Rights Lawyer. Adjunct Faculty Osgoode Hall
Law School |
Lana Kerzner |
Staff lawyer, ARCH - ARCH: A Legal Resource Centre
for Persons with Disabilities |
Mary Lou Fassell |
Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic |
Pat Fleischmann |
Community Program, Toronto Police Service |
Linda Vickers |
Victim Services, Toronto Police Service |
Aaron Shelbourne |
AAC User, Speak Up Project |
Fran Odette |
Sexual Health Educator, Speak Up Project |
Barbara Collier |
Project Coordinator, Speak Up Project |
Service Needs [Top]
- There are currently no standards of practice in Ontario to police,
legal professionals and victim services in cases involving people who
use AAC.
- AAC users are often unaware of their rights, violation of rights and
the justice process.
- Police, victim services and legal professionals do not receive training
in the area of recognizing and accommodating the supports required by
people who use AAC.
- There are currently no procedures in place to formally provide communication
facilitation for AAC users within the justice system.
- There are no guidelines and trainings in place to support police and
legal professionals in effective cross-examination / interview techniques
for people with communication disabilities.
- In Ontario, there is no legal unit that provides accessible, individual
legal support to people who use AAC.
Guidelines and Resources for The Justice
System [Top]
- AAC users must have the supports they require to access the justice
system. A range of resources and supports should be developed within
the context of an equal access demonstration model that could be duplicated
across Ontario. Such a model would accommodate the physical and communication
access needs of people who use AAC in addition to the development and
implementation of effective protocols for policy and practice relative
to the information, skills and resources required by police, legal professionals
and victim support services.
- A protocol should be developed along the lines of the Nova Scotia
Protocol (1991) to guide legal professionals in cases involving people
with physical and/or communication disabilities.
- AAC users require tools, skills and strategies to facilitate their
communication with legal professionals.
- Access to communication facilitation/interpreting services
- Vocabulary – human rights, abuse, legal procedures etc.
- Information about rights, criminal justice system etc.
- Police, victim services and legal personnel should know where to locate
services in the community to support AAC users who are proceeding through
the justice system. Information/services such as:
- Access to communication facilitators/interpreting services
- Access to vocabulary for AAC users
- Information about rights and abuses
- Information on options related to criminal or civil processes
- Police, victim services and legal professionals should have basic
training in providing services to people with disabilities and specifically
to people who use AAC.
- Policies and Procedures for using AAC interpreters should be place
for supporting an AAC user’s communication in court.
- Access to trained AAC interpreters
- Indicators for using an AAC interpreter
- Guidelines for using an AAC interpreter
- Consent and confidentiality procedures for using an AAC interpreter
- Guidelines for interviewing people with communication disabilities
should be developed and police and legal professionals should be trained
or supported in their use.
Speak Up Resources to Support Legal
Professionals Working with AAC Users: [Top]
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