Stammering guidance for judges

Image

How we worked with the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary to include stammering in their Equal Treatment Bench Book. 

Summary

The prospect of speaking in court when you stammer can be particularly grim. There's a danger that common stammering behaviours like switching words, saying very little or loss of eye contact can be mistaken as a sign of guilt, uncertainty, evasiveness or nervousness.  

That's why we worked with the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary in 2021 to include stammering in the Equal Treatment Bench Book. This resource, given to every judge in the UK, helps the judiciary understand the different circumstances and needs of people appearing in courts and tribunals.

Outcome: Using our guidance, judges should be more aware of how stammering can affect people in court, and not make any judgements based on it.

Background

In 2019, we were approached by Allan Tyrer, a former solicitor who used to work for us when we were the British Stammering Association. Allan is also the founder of stammeringlaw.org.uk, a website that interprets disability discrimination law with regards to stammering. He had met employment judge Tamara Lewis at a Discrimination Law Association conference, who was there giving a workshop on the Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB). The ETBB gives official guidance to judges on how to deal with disability in court, among other things. Allan knew that although it includes general guidance on many specific disabilities, stammering was not included.

Allan asked Tamara about the possibility of getting stammering into the ETBB. He cited an Australian case of a criminal conviction having been overturned because of stammering being mistaken as lying. Also, the possibility that people who stammer might, when giving evidence, change what they really want to say (eg substitute words) to try to avoid stammering. 

It (the guidance) is vital if the courts are to avoid miscarriages of justice, and it can help those in the court system to gain a better understanding of stammering. It will benefit those who stammer and ensure better verdicts.

Tamara agreed that it would be important to include stammering in the ETBB and asked Allan to contact her with suggested wording so that it could be added to the next edition. Allan thought that STAMMA should lead on this, so he got in touch with us.

Over 2020, we got to work on drafting our guidance. Our Service Lead, Web Editor and CEO all contributed and sent a draft over to Allan to review, given his legal expertise. Several versions later, we were ready to submit it to the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary.

Publication & importance

In February 2021, Tamara informed us that the new edition of the Equal Treatment Bench Book had been released. For the first time, it now included a chapter on what stammering is so that judges could learn how a stammer may affect the way some people come across, and how behaviours may be misinterpreted. It also has practical guidance for staff to help make the court experience easier for defendants and witnesses who stammer.

Jane Powell, STAMMA CEO, said:

"We are delighted that this information has been published in the 2021 edition of the Bench Book and circulated to judges and staff in the legal system. It is vital if the courts are to avoid miscarriages of justice, and it can help those in the court system to gain a better understanding of stammering. It will benefit those who stammer and ensure better verdicts.

'The advice for the judiciary is also relevant for employers and those in education. It is all too easy to misunderstand the behaviours, the body language of those who stammer. It is also easy for those who don't stammer to dismiss the concerns of those who, for the most part, can hide their stammer, and assume that no consideration need be given here."

Update 2024

In January 2021, Allan got back in touch to say that he had updated his website in light of the fact that since the pandemic, remote court hearings via video or audio link had become more common. He pointed out that these could cause problems for people who stammer. In response, we contacted the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary to ask if we could update the guidance. They agreed, and after we sent them our amends, they published an updated version in July 2024. You can download the current Equal Treatment Bench Book edition below.

You can also read about the Bench Book on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website.

A huge thank you to Allan Tyrer from stammeringlaw.org.uk for his help and guidance, and for suggesting it to Tamara in the first place.

If you think you have been discriminated against due to stammering, let us know. Contact our Advocacy Service and we can see if we can help you challenge it.