What Can the Judiciary Do?
		There is an obvious disparity between the tested levels of illiteracy and functional illiteracy in the inmate population, and the lower levels recognized as present during the court process. Assuming that being illiterate has a status and stigma that even the most vocal school dropout does not wish to be identified with, we must infer that we cannot expect much success in encouraging illiterate people to self identify. There are, however, a number of strategies which we can consider to ensure full access to the resources of the administration of justice, and to ensure we are adjudicating on the actual position of the parties. This non-exhaustive list was developed with the help of a John Howard Society working group on literacy in Oshawa, Ontario. 1.    Be aware of the statistical magnitude of the population in the system of those who are illiterate or functionally so. 2.    Be alive to the myriad ways that varying degrees of illiteracy would play havoc in your courthouse with the ability of accused persons, parties and witnesses to access the resources in the system, and to communicate to you the things that they want to tell you and that you need to know to adjudicate properly. 3.    Watch for markers that could signal illiteracy. For example: a submission "... left school at age 16 before completing grade 10." If someone with less learned skills and information than grade 10.9 is below the level of full functional literacy for court purposes, has the person had the opportunity to make up any shortfall through other education or experience? If not, is there any indication that the party is failing to understand part of the process, or has failed to receive the benefits of resources in the system? A submission, which I had recently, "He threw away his copy of the recognizance." Or, more common, "He threw away his disclosure material." Why? An accused with less than full high-school education claims to have read his 10-page presentence report in less than 5 minutes. A party who has gone to Legal Aid every day, but keeps going so late that he does not have time to rill in the relevant forms: is he able to rill in the forms?

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