by Cynthia Price
Legal News
The report just released from the State Bar of Michigan’s Equal Access Initiative (EAI) Disabilities Work-group is the result of ten years of investigation into how the court system handles people with disabilities.
Nonetheless, it is not the final word on the subject.
In 2001, the Open Justice Commission of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) released a report entitled “Access to the Legal System in Michigan for Persons with Disabilities.” The purpose of the report was to explore the “challenges confronting persons with disabilities as they made their way through the legal system,” including law school, legal offices and the courts, either as attorneys or as clients.
The document made recommendations intended to address areas the commission deemed as posing the worst barriers to full access.
Six years later the EAI Workgroup on Disabilities determined that it was time to see what progress had been made on those recommendations, and the result was the recently-released “Persons with Disabilities and Access to the Michigan Legal System: A Status Report, 2010.”
The data collected will help the workgroup assess progress over those ten years, but that is only step one in improving access. Members of the Disabilities Workgroup, all of them volunteers and some of them involved since the 2001 commission, still face the daunting task of honing in on the barriers that still impede access, and developing detailed strategies to continue improvement.
The Office of Survey Research at Michigan State University’ Director Dr. Larry Hembroff worked under SBM Director of Research and Development Anne Vrooman to analyze raw data culled from a direct survey answered by 113 attorneys statewide. Most of the attorney respondents were disabled themselves, but two sets of questions explored both the treatment of lawyers and the treatment of their clients with disabilities.
Following guidance from the State Court Administrator’s Office and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator’s office, information was also derived from focus groups held throughout the state with judges, court officers, and other legal system representatives.
The surveys and focus group results brought forward some startling data. While nearly one third of the clients served by the surveyed attorneys had mental disabilities (28%), and 20% had learning disabilities, court personnel in the focus groups reported uncertainty about how to identify and deal with such disabilities. The comments reflect that the judges and court staff are aware of the problem and take it seriously, and included several suggestions for improvement — such as compiling best management practices and training every level of court personnel.
Another surprising finding is that 79% of respondents serving clients with disabilities were either unaware or only vaguely aware of Michigan Court Form 70, which is the primary form used to request accommodations for clients with disabilities. Similarly, only 33% of attorneys representing disabled clients were familiar with the court-designated ADA coordinator. Only 14% had used a coordinator’s services.
The good news is that 72% of respondents had seen at least some improvement in access over the last ten years. Of those responding that there had been no improvement or that the situation had improved, 40% pointed to continued negative attitudes and beliefs about people with disabilities.
In terms of physical accessibility to courts, Kent County Courthouse fared very well, with 3 respondents listing it as among the most accessible — particularly impressive since the bulk of the survey replies appear to have come from the east side of the state.
For more information, email SBM Director of Diversity Gregory Conyers at gconyers@mail.michbar.org. The report is found at http://www.michbar.org/programs/EAI/pdfs/disabilitiesreport.pdf
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