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Presenter urges courts to adopt trauma‑informed, ADA‑compliant practices for victims with disabilities
Summary
Kia Hall of University of Arkansas Partners told a New Mexico Courts webinar that courts must provide accessible, trauma‑informed supports — such as reasonable accommodations, ADA coordinators and grievance processes — so crime victims with disabilities can fully participate.
Kia Hall, a disability advocate with University of Arkansas Partners, told a webinar hosted by the New Mexico Courts that courts must adopt trauma‑informed, ADA‑compliant practices to ensure crime victims with disabilities can participate fully in legal proceedings. ‘‘Title II of the ADA applies to all state and local courts,’’ Hall said, adding that Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act also applies when courts receive federal funds.
Hall framed the issue with prevalence figures: ‘‘About 1 in 4 U.S. adults have a disability,’’ she said, and people with disabilities face higher risks of victimization and justice system involvement — figures she summarized as four times higher risk of violent crime, nearly two in five incarcerated adults having a disability and roughly 85% of incarcerated youth having a disability. Hall cautioned these statistics illustrate systemic risk factors that must shape courtroom supports.
She described the difference between the medical model (which treats disability as a deficiency) and the social model (which sees disability arising from the interaction between people and inaccessible environments) and urged courts to design processes and spaces so people with disabilities need not ask for special treatment. Using a courtroom example, Hall recounted a case where a blind victim was asked to read a three‑year‑old text message but was not given an enlarged view on a room screen; she said the refusal ‘‘prevented full participation’’ and required redoing parts of the proceeding.
Hall emphasized practical steps for courts and providers: identify and publicize an ADA coordinator, use plain language and privacy protections, allow choice and control for the individual, and pull together multidisciplinary teams (disability advocates, victim/witness coordinators, crisis center advocates and nonprofit accommodation providers) that let the person with a disability lead decisions about supports. ‘‘If you can’t provide an accommodation, tell the person what your boundary is and where they can get help,’’ she said, adding many nonprofits can loan or provide assistive tools.
She addressed ableism and language, urging staff to avoid derogatory terms and to respect community preferences for people‑first or identity‑first language. Hall said training for non‑disabled allies helps reduce unintentional exclusion and improves staff responses at hearings — for example, offering closed captions, audio description and accessible venue choices rather than assuming a single fix will suffice.
Hall closed by encouraging use of trauma‑informed resources (she directed listeners to SAMHSA’s toolkits), reminding courts that grievance procedures must be posted and available to anyone, and offering to share ally training materials and booklets. The New Mexico Courts host, Peggy Cadwell, thanked Hall, noted an ASL interpreter was present, and told attendees the session would be recorded and posted on the court’s YouTube channel. For follow‑up Hall offered her contact information.
