New Guidebook Offers Tips for Jurists

December 1, 2020

Crime victims with disabilities often require accommodations to have equal access to the criminal justice process. This includes court proceedings. Today the Adult Advocacy Centers are releasing A Jurist’s Guide for Criminal Cases Involving Individuals with Disabilities to help Ohio jurists create strategies that ensure people with disabilities have meaningful interactions, accommodations, treatment and access when intersecting with the justice system, within the constraints of the law. The guide was created by Magistrate Judy Jackson Winston and the Adult Advocacy Centers (AACs), in collaboration with Advocacy and Protective Services Inc. (APSI), Disability Rights Ohio (DRO), the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD), Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) and the Ohio Victim Witness Association (OVWA).

The guide includes the following chapters:

  • Introduction to Crime Victims with Disabilities
  • Crime Statistics for Victims with Disabilities
  • The Scope of the Problem
  • The Judicial System and Victims with Disabilities
  • The ADA and Its Application to Courts
  • Physical Abuse Cases: Barriers to Courtroom Access for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities and Mental Illness
  • Sexual Assault: Barriers to Courtroom Access by Those with Developmental Disorders and Mental Health Disorders
  • Facilitating Courtroom Accommodations for People with Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health Disorders
  • Facilitating Courtroom Access and Allowing for Accommodations for Those with Sensory and Physical Disabilities
  • Community Resources
  • Glossary, Resources and References

Download the Guidebook:

A Jurist’s Guide for Criminal Cases Involving Individuals with Disabilities