Access to Justice for Vulnerable People

Penny practices as a barrister at 39 Essex Chambers advising on effective participation of witnesses in a wide range of serious, complex and high value cases. Her research is widely published and cited; she has written judicially endorsed guidance for advocates and witness intermediaries. Penny also leads grant-funded research at the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, University of London Linda Hunting is a visiting lecturer in criminology and law at the University of West London and University of Roehampton and has worked as a consultant developing materials for undergraduate courses.

• AcknowledgementsForeword -The Hon. Ms Justice Alison RussellContributorsIntroduction -The Rt Hon. Lady Justice Dorrian, Lord Justice Clerk1.‘Moving at a pace’: Towards a new approach to vulnerability in courts and tribunals? -Professor Penny Cooper2.Cartesian perfection: The route out of failure - The Rt Hon. Sir John Gillen3.Bringing the court closer to the person with disability: Judicial exemption from the Equality Act and interference with reasonable adjustments for litigants with physical disabilities - Dr. Anton van Dellen4.Judges and lawyers: Getting it wrong about the disabled for all these years - John Horan5.Challenges in defining and identifying a suspect’s vulnerability in criminal proceedings: What’s in a name and who’s to blame? - Lore Mergaerts, Prof. dr. Dirk Van Daele, Prof. dr. Geert Vervaeke6.Caught by language: The language competence of young offendersand the implications for the (Dutch) youth justice system - Mr. Mw. K.G.M. van Dijk – Fleetwood-Bird7.Justice denied? The experience of unrepresented defendants in the criminal courts - Penelope Gibbs8.Anunga 40 years on – Rights remain limited for Indigenous suspects in the Northern Territory of Australia - Felicity Gerry QC and David Woodroffe9.The effects of intersectionality: Women with learning disabilities, difficulties and autism in the criminal justice system - Dr. Hugh Asher10.The importance of identifying vulnerable females and males with autism in the prison environment - Dr. Clare S. Allely, Dr. Toni Wood, & Christopher Gillberg11.Confusion and communication in deaf cases: Towards a model of best practice - Dr. Sue O’Rourke, Chantelle de la Croix, Noel Traynor and Robert Grieve12.Trauma and victim participation in the criminal process - Professor Louise Ellison and Professor Vanessa E Munro13.The pre-trial Position of vulnerable victims of crime In Ireland - Dr. Alan Cusack14.Balancing accessibility and authority: Towards an integrated approach to vulnerability in the criminal courts - Dr. Jessica Jacobson15.Advocating PEACE: Will it make people cross? - Professor Ray Bull and Dr. Andy GriffithsPostscript - Linda Hunting