Vermont Initiatives For Defendant Accommodaiton
One successful Vermont initiative for defendant accommodation noted in the VDAP was pioneered by Associate Justice Marilyn Skoglund of the Vermont Supreme Court. Justice Skoglund conducted a study to determine the required reading level for understanding court documents. The study revealed that standard conditions of release and conditions of probation forms required a 12th grade reading level—even though 95% of typical defendants in Vermont have not finished high school. In response, Justice Skoglund revised the standard conditions and application for public defender services to require an 8th grade reading level.
The VDAP provides many suggestions for defendant accommodation, such as a revised Miranda warning for mentally retarded defendants and sufferers of HLD:
Source: "Vermont Defendant Accommodation Project", Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 10, No. 1/2, pg. 147 (2004)
Read more about this topic: Vermont Defendant Accommodation Project
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