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Criminal Justice System

Angel
over 6 years ago

I am totally prepared to start a campaign if there is not one to support ASD Adults going to court on criminal convictions. There are NO specialist solicitors. The Police are dreadful not trained completely for ASD.  The courts need to improve advocate support inside then just a solicitor alone then generally get guilty pleas instead of looking at the whole. ASD sadly do not always have a voice and always go along with solicitors bad advice. I would like to see solicitors and courts support cases where ASD and social isolation to be taken seriously in any charges and always seek reports as protocol when is known ASD person is before the courts. Can anyone help me know how to improve the system where guilty pleas are forced then the truth and innocence is lost due to ASD going along with early guilty pleas when innocent to criminal convictions then the entire?

Parents
  • over 3 years ago

    I second this and would add to it the provision of barristers under Civil Legal Aid (covers unlawful discrimination, harassment, etc) for autistic people, especially since EHRC classes the lack of adjustments for autistic people in the criminal justice system as unlawful discrimination. From my experience only solicitors are provided and we either have to self-represent in court or go through the stress of applying to independent charities like Advocate and getting the CLA solicitor and Advocate barrister to work together. CLA tends to work on the assumption that their solicitors will scare the defendant into remedying the situation but often the defendant in discrimination cases are big unwieldy organisations (the police, CPS or in my experience a CofE Diocese) who are bent on defending their own whatever it takes, end result being that it often takes a barrister in court. So there should be support for autistic adults in court, civil or criminal.

Reply
  • over 3 years ago

    I second this and would add to it the provision of barristers under Civil Legal Aid (covers unlawful discrimination, harassment, etc) for autistic people, especially since EHRC classes the lack of adjustments for autistic people in the criminal justice system as unlawful discrimination. From my experience only solicitors are provided and we either have to self-represent in court or go through the stress of applying to independent charities like Advocate and getting the CLA solicitor and Advocate barrister to work together. CLA tends to work on the assumption that their solicitors will scare the defendant into remedying the situation but often the defendant in discrimination cases are big unwieldy organisations (the police, CPS or in my experience a CofE Diocese) who are bent on defending their own whatever it takes, end result being that it often takes a barrister in court. So there should be support for autistic adults in court, civil or criminal.

Children