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Language Impairments: What’s a lawyer to do??

Language Impairments: What’s a lawyer to do??. Raising the issue. Language related deficits extend beyond 15 (hereinafter **) Competency Motions to suppress Miranda Voluntariness False Confession Consent Guilty pleas Lack of intent or knowledge as a defense Mitigation/Culpability

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Language Impairments: What’s a lawyer to do??

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  1. Language Impairments:What’s a lawyer to do??

  2. Raising the issue • Language related deficits extend beyond 15 (hereinafter **) • Competency • Motions to suppress • Miranda • Voluntariness • False Confession • Consent • Guilty pleas • Lack of intent or knowledge as a defense • Mitigation/Culpability • Revocations • Juvenile Waiver/Transfer • Sexual Predator Commitments (failure to comply with treatment)

  3. Competency • Ability to assist counsel is the main event and is not just an exchange of information • Competency requires ability to effectivelycommunicate with counsel. Cooper v. Oklahoma • ** • IQ insufficient measure • Talking slowly doesn’t fix it; neither does repeating it • Request language assessments • SLP/Psychologist • Expert testimony

  4. Confessions: Miranda • Vocabulary • Ability to follow complex sentences • Abstract concepts • Fund of Knowledge • Even if they’ve seen it on TV • Auditory Processing • Follow directions • Likely to say they understand (they don’t want to look stupid) • **

  5. Confessions: Suggestibility & Reliability • ** • More suggestible • More likely to confess • More likely to confess to something they didn’t do • Narrative deficits • Incomplete or misleading statements(“he got in my face so I shot him”) • Pragmatic deficits (how police interpret the suspect and his statement)

  6. Guilty pleas • Massive amounts of information • Risks • Benefits • Elements • Collateral consequences • Difficulties with decision making • Time limits on accepting an offer

  7. Post-dispositional issues • Increased likelihood of disciplinary problems (Clarke) • Inability to successfully deal with cookie-cutter verbal based therapies • Many literacy programs assume intact language system • Difficulties with restorative justice • Compliance with supervision (with a long list of rules…) • ADA??

  8. How Language Impairments Impair the Attorney-Client Relationship • Working within the attorney-client relationship itself • Narrative skills • Understanding the legal process • Decision Making • Empathy & Trust

  9. Recognizing LI • Previously unidentified • Perfect world: routine language assessments • Receptive, processing, & expressive skills • SLP • Special assessment for pragmatic deficiencies • SLP as advisor and “interpreter” • FAQ: Where do I find an SLP?

  10. When Money Is An Object:Look for signs • Forgetting instructions • Confusion with non-literal language • Talking a lot but saying little • Not asking questions • Not answering questions • Seeming “difficult” • “He got in my face so I shot him” • Remember - **

  11. External clues • School records esp. IEPs • Verbal IQ (with a word of caution) • Reading scores • Associated disorders or conditions • Disciplinary issues • Behavior Problem?

  12. Improving Attorney-Client Communication • Beware of your non-verbal signals • Timelessness • 3 1hour meetings > 1 3hour meeting • Notes as props, not the main event • Atty-client conversations as act of double consciousness • What is the client doing/saying? • What am I doing/saying??

  13. Getting beyond “he got in my face so I shot him” • Lawyer as “archeologist looking for shards” • Allow story to emerge • Assume multiple discussions • Visuals & Role Play • Targeted discussions • When you say ‘he got in your face,’ show me exactly what he did • Walk client back for context • Uncovering emotional content

  14. Getting beyond law talk • Unpack the concepts and language • Put concepts in context of client’s case • Reframe • Visuals and Role Play • Shorter, less complex sentences • Explain expectations, perceptions, and rules of engagement • Assess understanding (without it looking like a test) • Beware TMI • What does the client need to know NOW? • Chunk information • Quit talking like a lawyer • You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother. --- Albert Einstein

  15. Do you understand?

  16. Educating judges & prosecutors

  17. Easy fit with Daubert/Frye • Not understanding rules vs. non-compliance • Reconsider the “bad attitude” (Pragmatic deficits) • Reconsider “he got in my face so I shot him” • Reconsider poor conduct record • Reconsider poor compliance with treatment/supervision (“you were given a chance”) • Getting around “he looks like he understands” • Previously unidentified • **

  18. More trouble spots • Client testimony • Questioning form • Credibility • Impeachment • Expert to explain? • Client cooperation/Acceptance of responsibility • Remorse • Presentence interview • Limited time plea offers

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