More than a quarter of U.S. adults live with a disability, yet little is known about their experiences in the justice system. Robust data and research on disability engagement in the justice system is an important step toward inclusion efforts to ensure everyone has equal access and treatment.
The Pew Charitable Trusts works to improve access to justice for people with disabilities, and recently partnered with the research organization RAND Corporation to learn more about people with disabilities’ experiences with the legal system and identify research and policy gaps. On November 8, RAND shared the report’s findings during a presentation and panel discussion at Pew’s D.C. office, “Disability and the Legal System: A Proposed Agenda for Future Research.” (A recording of the event is available on demand.)
The RAND report, which included a review of current literature and publications as well as interviews with people who work in and interact with the legal system, identified several opportunities to strengthen research on disability access and the legal system.
The researchers considered a range of disabilities, including physical, sensory, communication, intellectual, developmental and cognitive disabilities, and excluded papers that focused solely on mental health, which is more prevalent in research. The literature search revealed a strong focus on death penalty cases involving people with intellectual disabilities, but information about how people with sensory and motor disabilities interact with the legal system was less available.
There was also a lack of information about disability access in civil courts: 90 percent of the sources RAND reviewed focused on criminal cases, even though child guardianship and debt lawsuits are both potentially life-changing cases heard in civil courts.
Similarly, researchers found few articles exploring the intersection of disability with race, ethnicity, age, or other categories, but interviewees said that racism and bias in the legal system complicate the experiences of people with disabilities who also belong to other historically marginalized groups.
The research team identified priorities to guide future research on disability access, including focusing on people with disabilities’ interactions with the civil legal system, clarifying definitions and terminology related to disability, and placing the experiences of people with disabilities at the center of research.
Following the presentations, RAND’s Stephanie Brooks Holliday moderated a panel of disability justice researchers, advocates, and practitioners, including Lee Ann McKinsley (senior director of criminal justice initiatives at The Arc, the nation’s largest community organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities), Judge David Wedeby of King County (Washington) Superior Court, and Dr. Gabriel Lomas, professor at Gallaudet University and co-author of “Deaf People in the Criminal Justice System.” They shared their research and how the legal system can improve access for people with disabilities.
The panel discussed ways to make research public and easily accessible to advocates, service providers, policymakers and court practitioners. “I’ve worked in this field for many years, and I feel like elevating research and getting it in front of policymakers is always where we make a difference,” Lomas said. “Sometimes you do research and publish it in an academic journal, but it doesn’t get the attention it needs, so Pew Research Center has elevated this research.”
Judge Wedeby added that consolidating information for the courts is a key component of translating research into policy change: “From my position now as a judge, having briefed judges across Washington on access issues, I can tell you that judges genuinely want to help and want to do the right thing, but there is so much information they have to keep track of at any given moment of the day that it requires very fine-tuned practice.”
The group also discussed the importance of involving people with disabilities in all aspects of access to justice, especially in research. “We live in an ableist society,” Lomas said. “People without disabilities often join the discussion, but it is our responsibility to include people with disabilities on our research teams.”
McIngsley further weighed in on how the process should proceed. “If we make assumptions about what people need, we miss the key points where we need to listen and act,” he said. “We start every effort from the perspective of those with experience.”
Sarah Godfrey and Darcy White are senior officers, and April Rodriguez is a collaborator for the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Courts and Communities Project.