Lessons in Access t Lessons in Access to Justice: Racializ o Justice: Racialized Youths in Ontario ouths in Ontario's Safe Schools

Abstract

Access to justice is often equated with access to institutionalized dispute resolution processes, and the objective barriers that hinder such access-costs and delay most particularly-are commonly identified as the primary objects of reform efforts. In sharp contrast, when interviews and focus groups were conducted with racialized youths in Toronto regarding their experiences of access to justice in the context of school disciplinary matters, accounts of access to dispute resolution processes being impeded by costs and delay did not figure prominently. The interviews and focus groups revealed that many racialized youths scarcely ever considered accessing institutionalized dispute resolution processes largely because they lacked information that would enable them to "name" a potential legal problem, believed that "blaming" a powerful state actor was futile or would provoke retaliation, and had a deep skepticism regarding the ability of the legal system to dispense justice when "claims" are made. For the youths, understanding (as opposed to stereotyping), mutual respect, second chances, and the rule of law were the key features of access to justice.