McCausland, Reeve and Gooding believe that this outcome allows for the quickest resolution and appropriate care for people with cognitive disabilities. Additionally, they believe that this method is the most cost effective. However, they believe that this option could be dissatisfying for the alleged victim, as it does not establish if the person with disability ever committed the alleged crime.

McCausland, Reeve and Gooding's Judgment of the Impact of Disability Justice Support Worker Intervention

In this outcome, a person with a disability has their charge withdrawn and moves into a residential facility, under supervision from a disability justice support worker.

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- Unfitness Hearing
- Guilty Plea
- Disability Justice Support Worker Intervention

Legal Outcomes for People with Cognitive Disabilities in Australia

McCausland, R., Reeve, R., & Gooding, P. (2019). The economic case for improving legal outcomes for accused persons with cognitive disability: an Australian study. International Journal of Law in Context, 15(4), 367-389.

Legal Outcomes for Accused Persons with Cognitive Disability in Australia

Disability Justice Support Worker Intervention for People with Cognitive Disabilities in Australia

In this outcome, a person with a disability is judged to be unfit to stand trial, and avoids conviction. Since the determination of someone's fitness to stand trial would need to be elevated to a higher court, this process could take at least a year. During this process, the person with a disability would either be remanded or placed in a secure residential facility under supervision.

Unfitness Hearing for People with Cognitive Disabilities in Australia

In this outcome, a person with a disability enters a guilty plea in the magistrates' court and can claim mitigating circumstances because of the nature of their disability. People who enter a guilty plea with disabilities can be eligible for a "Justice Plan".

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