ABSTRACT
The principles and systems that drive criminal justice systems vary from country to country, and clinicians need to find out those that apply in their area. The criminal justice systems in Britain and the United States are adversarial: within them there is an acceptance that the individual has rights, and the legal process starts with the premise that a person is innocent until proven guilty or has admitted guilt. Criminal justice systems and their associated language are complex and difficult to understand for the lay person. Criminal justice systems have a huge specialised terminology to describe all the personnel, processes, places, and offences. The legislation within the criminal justice systems requires that certain procedures are carried out in prescribed settings – for example, police stations, courts. A speech and language clinician has much to contribute to assessments of ‘competence’, ‘capacity’ or ‘fitness’, whether it be in relation to interviewing, assisting in own defence, consenting to a relationship or sexual act.
