Children with Learning Disabilities and the Young Offenders Act (From Learning Disabilities and the Young Offender: Arrest to Disposition, P 57-68, 1986, Howard Stutt, ed. -- See NCJ-108409)

• NCJ Number: 108414
• Author(s): D M Steinberg
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 12 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; Canadian Assoc for Children and Adults With Learning Disabilities
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Description
• Language: English
• Country: Canada
• Note: For microfiche, see NCJ-108409.

Annotation

The author, a judge, reviews the Act as the position from which he starts the court hearing of a young offender and to which he must always return.

Abstract

He notes that the new legislation prescribes that children are capable of developing a criminal intent and that, if they commit a criminal act, they should be charged under the Criminal Code. As a corollary, extensive protections provided for in the arrest, bail, trial, and sentencing procedures allow for considerable adult assistance for learning disabled young offenders, especially those who have active family support. He outlines what may happen to one involved in the criminal-young offenders process and describes safeguards which may be of particular benefit to the learning disabled child: the right to legal counsel, protections in the giving of statements, parental involvement in the arrest and court processes, and assessments and predisposition reports. The writer concludes that the Act will not be equitably applied unless parents, the bar, social resources, and probation officers within each community assume a strong advocacy role for the young people involved in the process.