Judicial Advocacy

The Arc Pikes Peak Region is passionate about serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Often, there is a marginalization of people with IDD in society, which unfortunately transfers to the criminal justice system. 

What We Believe as a National Organization and Local Arc Chapter:

The Arc National Position Statement regarding Criminal Justice states: “People with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) have the right to justice and fair treatment in all areas of the criminal justice system and must be afforded the supports and accommodations required to make justice and fair treatment a reality.”

Below are some staggering trends that we see nationally and locally.  The Arc Pikes Peak Region is committed to bringing community members together to seek solutions to address these challenges collectively:

• Often not recognized as having a disability. Individuals with IDD are frequently undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, especially by evaluators, including law enforcement personnel, who are not trained in assessment of individuals with intellectual disability and who do not recognize common characteristics such as individuals’ attempts to hide their disability. Defendants with IDD are often denied a fair evaluation of whether they are entitled to legal protection as having IDD on the basis of false stereotypes about what individuals with IDD can and cannot understand or do;

• Victimized at high rates. Individuals with IDD are significantly more likely to be victimized (at least two times more likely for violent crimes and four to ten times for abuse and other crimes), yet their cases are rarely investigated or prosecuted because of discrimination, devaluation, prejudice that they are not worthy of protection, and mistaken stereotypes that none can be competent witnesses. Their victimization comes in many forms including violence, oppression, financial exploitation, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking;

• Lack of information. When individuals with IDD or their families come into contact with the criminal justice system, they find few organized resources for information and support.

If you are interested in reading more about The Arc’s position on criminal justice, read here: https://thearc.org/position-statements/criminal-justice-system/

We look forward to serving you. If you or a loved one with an intellectual or developmental disability need assistance navigating the judicial system, please fill out the form below. You can also request judicial advocacy by emailing advocacy@thearcppr.org

Important disclaimer: We are not lawyers. The Arc Pikes Peak Region provides non-attorney advocates and our staff cannot provide legal advice. Our goal is to find solutions before an attorney is needed. In fact, in many of the systems of support we work in, a special needs attorney is not required. We work to walk the person with IDD and/or their guardian through their options.

If the client’s needs fall outside our scope of work and/or if an issue rises to the level that legal representation is required, we will work to connect them with other resources. Please note that we are not able to pay for an attorney if you need one.