Literacy and the Legal Profession
		In 1992, a Task Force co-sponsored by The Canadian Bar Association made the following conclusions of significant concern to judges in the day-to-day administration of justice in their courtrooms. 1.    Most legal material is written, and it is written in language peculiar to the legal community. 2.    Adults with limited literacy are intimidated by the legal system. 3.    Adults with limited literacy do not perceive that the lawyer or the system is there to help them. 4.    While the vast majority of lawyers have had experience with a client with limited literacy, they are not aware of all the ensuing difficulties limited literacy creates. 5.    Lawyers assume a level of literacy that people with limited literacy skills simply do not possess. 6.    While lawyers do recognize limited literacy skills, they still rely, to some extent, on a presumed ability to deal with written material.
Implications for Judges
		There are a number of general implications for judges who wish to ensure that justice is both done and seen to be done, arising from the literacy reality in Canada. 1.    It would be a grave error to assume that any witness or party is literate, in the absence of evidence of some sort as to that person's literacy level. 2.    It would be an even more serious error to assume that any witness or party is literate in the sense that that person is able to read or to process and understand legal terms or conventions of speech.

Previous	Table of Contents	Next