Florida Lawyers Call Out State's Juvenile Shackling Practice!
A common practice of shackling defendants in Florida juvenile courtrooms has recently drawn the ire of lawyers who think the practice is psychologically damaging and needs to end, and ultimately shows how juveniles are not always afforded the same rights as adults in court.
The state of Florida has been chaining and shackling juveniles in courtrooms for more than a decade, according to a story in Jacksonville's Financial News & Daily Record. This practice has been under a lot of heat since the Florida Bar's Legal Needs of Children Committee passed a motion in September encouraging its ban.
Since that time, Miami-Dade and Broward counties have stopped shackling juvenile defendants except when considered a security or flight risk. Duval County has continued making accused juvenile offenders wear ankle chains and handcuffs on their way inside and outside of the courtroom. Public Defender Bill White said in the story that Jacksonville and other cities in Duval County have been shackling juveniles for 20 years.
White added that Duval County often shackles most adults while other jurisdictions like Miami-Dade won't do this because of due process rights. However, White noted that the shackles are typically removed from adults in Duval County because they imply guilt to the jury. Since judges decide juvenile criminal defense cases, White said that it has become a rather common view that a shackled juvenile would not impact the judge's decision.
While judges may not automatically think a shackled juvenile is guilty upon first-sight, some lawyers and child advocates are more concerned with what the juvenile is thinking when shackled. Miami Chief Assistant Public Defender Carlos Martinez described shackling juveniles in an October Florida Bar News article as sending a message that they are "dangerous animals" when they should be presumed innocent. He also added that some kids in Florida juvenile courts have issues involving disabilities, mental illness and retardation, and that shackling them only "heaps" it on.
Despite this type of argument, some lawyers have been opposed to a Florida shackling ban out of a security concern in smaller-sized Duval County courtrooms. Jacksonville attorney Brian Cabrey questioned in the Financial News & Daily Record story whether all juvenile defendants need to be shackled and advocated that it be assessed on an individual basis. White opined that he thought the security issue is overblown and reflective of a society scared of its children. White added that he's never seen an incident where the potential danger of a juvenile defendant was actually realized during his 32 years in law.
Florida Juvenile Shackling Ban Opposed for Other Reasons
Opponents to this ban have argued that shackling juveniles creates a "deterrent effect" in which shackled suspects understand the seriousness of their juvenile crimes and are scared straight. Other opponents have said that changing the law to prevent shackling would create a burden of proof to show why a specific juvenile should be shackled. They argued that this process could become time-consuming and throw off the juvenile court's schedule.
White called shackling an "easy answer" in the Financial News & Daily Record story. He said a Florida shackling ban would be unfortunately viewed as being inconvenient for bailiffs who might have to bring defendants into court one at a time rather than as a group. White concluded by saying that a Florida shackling ban would not require the state to change its courtrooms but rather require it to change the way it deals with its courtrooms.
Florida Juvenile Shackling Debate Teaches Important Lesson!
Ultimately, the debate surrounding this call for a Florida juvenile shackling ban provides an important lesson about juvenile rights as opposed to adult rights in the court of law: they're not always the same. Juveniles may be afforded fewer rights than elders in adult courts, which makes having an experienced criminal defense attorney especially important in juvenile cases.
If you're juvenile child has been arrested and charged with a crime, speak with a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. Begin with a free case evaluation.