Tony Mantor: Why Not Me ?
Elizabeth Kelley:Autism in the Legal System: A Defense Attorney's Perspective
04 Apr 2025
Send us a text Criminal defense attorney Elizabeth Kelley shares her expertise on representing individuals with autism spectrum disorder and mental health conditions in the justice system, revealing how these clients are often misunderstood and how proper legal representation can change outcomes. • Started career representing a client with intellectual disability who was manipulated into criminal activity • Defines mental disabilities broadly to include mental illness, intellectual disabilities, and neurological conditions like autism • Approximately half of people on the autism spectrum also have intellectual disabilities • Many autistic individuals develop depression or anxiety from years of bullying and social ostracization • Uses forensic mental health experts to evaluate clients and explain the connection between diagnosis and behavior • Emphasizes that mental disabilities are not excuses but explanations for behavior • Highlights that people with mental disabilities are more likely to be crime victims than perpetrators • Prosecutors serve as gatekeepers to the justice system through charging decisions and plea offers • Legal options like competency and insanity defenses often inadequate for autism cases • Advises families to take early legal issues seriously as warning signs • Recommends pursuing diversionary options whenever possible to avoid permanent records • Works to educate judges and prosecutors about the reality of mental disabilities Tell everyone everywhere about Why Not Me The World, the conversations we're having and the inspiration our guests give to everyone everywhere that you are not alone in this world. https://tonymantor.com https://Facebook.com/tonymantor https://instagram.com/tonymantor https://twitter.com/tonymantor https://youtube.com/tonymantormusic intro/outro music bed written by T. Wild Why Not Me the World music published by Mantor Music (BMI)
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Welcome to Why Not Me? The World Podcast, hosted by Tony Mantor. Broadcasting from Music City, USA, Nashville, Tennessee. Join us as our guests tell us their stories. Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry. real-life people who will inspire and show that you are not alone in this world.
Hopefully, you gain more awareness, acceptance, and a better understanding for autism around the world. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. Welcome to Why Not Me? The World, Humanity Over Handcuffs, the Silent Crisis special event.
Today's guest is Elizabeth Kelly, a renowned criminal defense lawyer with a nationwide practice specializing in representing individuals with diverse issues, including autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, dementia, and schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and intellectual disabilities.
She is licensed to practice before the US Supreme Court, has written several books, lectures across the US, as well as abroad on representing people with mental disabilities. It is an honor to have her on the show. Thanks for coming on. Can you share with us how your journey in this field started?
Many years ago, I had my first client who had what we then called mental retardation. We now call an intellectual disability. He was conned by his so-called friends who were very streetwise into being a lookout during a string of burglaries.
I was really struck by the fact that his sense of responsibility, his participation in these acts was very, very different from that of the average person who is charged with a criminal offense. I worked very closely with his caseworker. Then his caseworker started referring other families to me. who had a loved one with an intellectual disability.
So I started representing more people with an intellectual disability. Then I had my first client who had a co-occurring disorder. That is to say, not only an intellectual disability, but also a mental illness. So I started schooling myself on mental illness.
Over the years, my practice has grown and so too has my knowledge of the vast array of people with mental disabilities and the fact that every single individual manifests their symptoms, manifests their issues in a different way.
Since you didn't know a lot about mental health and autism when you first started, What are some of the things that you find they do that people, mainly judges, district attorneys, don't understand? How do you approach that so you can help them understand what your client's going through so it can make a better outcome in the end for them?
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