Courts to address disabilities

The number of young offenders with disabilities going through the court system is on the rise, and how they are handled needs to be addressed, judges say.

Chief District Court Judge Jan-Marie Doogue and principal Youth Court Judge John Walker are working together to address the ‘‘mounting evidence’’ about the impact some disabilities and mental illnesses have on the court process.

The District Court is considering adopting a different approach to young adult offenders to take account of the high incidence of those with neuro-disabilities among those appearing in court.

The Youth Court is a division of the District Court that deals with offenders aged between 14 and 17, and in 2017, 1884 children and young people had charges finalised in court.

Judge Walker said the Youth Court was confronted by the disabilities affecting young people, including foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, autism, communication disorder, dyslexia and those suffering from brain injuries.

‘‘These disabilities occur at a very much higher rate in those who appear in court than in the general population,’’ he said.

‘‘When this is added to the increasing identification of mental illness and intellectual disability and the delayed brain developments that affects all young adults, the scale of the issue becomes apparent. These disabilities are fixed and do not stop when a young person reaches 17 and enters the District Court.’’

There were lessons to be learnt from Youth Court processes that could be adopted to better recognise the needs of young adults appearing in the District Court, Chief Judge Doogue said.

The Youth Court has welldeveloped processes to respond to the complex needs of these young people, but these do not generally extend into the District Court or the High Court.

She said if the District Court was to deliver effective responses to offending, defendants needed to be able to understand what was happening and to be able to fully participate in the hearing.

‘‘Many European courts have special processes for young adults and have had those processes for a long time. Recent reports in Europe and the United Kingdom have highlighted the need for these processes.

‘‘It just needs us as judges to appreciate that we cannot treat all young adults like they are fully developed adults,’’ she said.

The Chief Judge’s Advisory Board would continue to work on the next steps at a meeting next month.

‘‘. . . we cannot treat all young adults like they are fully developed adults.’’ Chief District Court Judge Jan-Marie Doogue