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Unchain the Children: Policy Options to End the Shackling of Youth in Court October 1, 2014 1:00 PM ET. David Shapiro National Juvenile Defender Center George Yeannakis TeamChild. Leads a national movement State-based juvenile justice coalitions and organizations - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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State Headquarters:1225 South Weller Street, Suite 420Seattle, WA 98144(206) 322-2444
Offices in King, Pierce, Snohomish, Yakima and Spokane [email protected] www.teamchild.org
Unchain the Children: Policy Options to End the Shackling of Youth in Court
October 1, 20141:00 PM ET
David ShapiroNational Juvenile Defender Center
George YeannakisTeamChild
• Leads a national movement
• State-based juvenile justice coalitions and organizations
• Laws, policies and practices that are fair, equitable and developmentally appropriate for all children, youth and families
Photo: Moriza
Presenters
David Shapiro is campaign
manager for the Campaign Against Indiscriminate Juvenile Shackling. He was the Gault Fellow at the National Juvenile Defender Center from 2012 to 2014. He earned his J.D. from
Brooklyn Law School in June 2012, where he received five public interest fellowships for his work on juvenile justice issues and co-chaired the Suspension Representation Project. David was a visiting student at Keble College, Oxford from 2007-08, and graduated magna cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis with an A.B. in History and Political Science in 2009.
George Yeannakis holds the position of Public Defense Services Manager for the Washington State Office of Public Defense. The Office strives to improve the delivery of indigent defense services throughout the
State. George was a public defender in Seattle for over 20 years with The Defender Association and Society of Counsel where he supervised the juvenile offender unit. He was lured from public defense to establish the Youth Advocacy Clinic at Seattle University School of Law. He continues to advocate for improvements in the representation of youthful offenders through his association with TeamChild, a civil legal services firm in Seattle.
State Headquarters:1225 South Weller Street, Suite 420Seattle, WA 98144(206) 322-2444
Offices in King, Pierce, Snohomish, Yakima and Spokane [email protected] www.teamchild.org
IndiscriminateJuvenileShackling
The Campaign Against Indiscriminate Juvenile Shackling
Overview
Shackling Basics
• Leg Irons; Handcuffs; Belly chains
• We are talking about in-court shackling
Constitutional Issues
“Visible shackles give the impression to any trier of fact that a person is violent, a miscreant, and cannot be trusted.”
1) Shackles as Punishment?
2) Attorney-Client Relationship & Participationin Proceedings
– It just made my attorney not like me. – I felt like he wasn’t even trying to work with me or reduce my time. – I was so worried about how everyone was seeing me in shackles
that I couldn’t concentrate …– I felt unfairly treated. – I was unable to focus.
Constitutional Issues
Why Shackling is Especially Bad During Adolescence
I felt like everybody was looking at me like I was a monster.
CAIJS’ Strategies
Model Statute/Court Rule• Instruments of restraint, such as handcuffs, chains, irons, or
straitjackets, may not be used on a child during a court proceeding and must be removed prior to the child’s appearance before the court unless the court finds both that:
• (1) The use of restraints is necessary due to one of the following factors:• (A) Instruments of restraint are necessary to prevent physical
harm to the child or another person;• (B) The child has a history of disruptive courtroom behavior
that has placed others in potentially harmful situations or presents a substantial risk of inflicting physical harm on himself or herself or others as evidenced by recent behavior; or
• (C) There is a founded belief that the child presents a substantial risk of flight from the courtroom;
AND
• (2) There are no less restrictive alternatives to restraints that will prevent flight or physical harm to the child or another person, including, but not limited to, the presence of court personnel, law enforcement officers, or bailiffs.
• (3) The court shall provide the juvenile’s attorney an opportunity to be heard before the court orders the use of restraints.
• (4) If restraints are ordered, the court shall make findings of fact in support of the order.
Model Statute/Court Rule
• Motions, Affidavits, & Questions for Affidavits
• Anecdotes from children and families
• Legislative Advocacy & Rulemaking support
• Networking w/ stakeholders
What CAIJS Can Help You With
• Police/Sheriff/Prosecutor Testimony
• Comparative Analysis
• Brainstorming
• Court Observation
• Memos & Research
What CAIJS Can Help You With
How You Can End Shackling – Policy People
• Talk to stakeholders, known and unfamiliar– Medical; Prosecutorial; Law School Clinics;
Defender Orgs
• Local Bar Organizations• Communications
– Defenders often do not have the resources to meet this challenge
• Amicus Litigation support• Legislative Advocacy / Court Rule Changes
• File Motions; Engage in Informal Advocacy– No excuses – this advocacy is “best practice” (In
overwhelming majority of cases)
• Talk to your clients – ask if this is what they want– For a short hearing, is it worth it?– Value of them seeing you in action
How You Can End Shackling – Courtroom Advocates
• Collect quotes/insight/anecdotes from children and families
• Try on Shackles• Stop Operating in a Silo!
– Team up w/ Doctors & Policy Organizations
How You Can End Shackling – Everybody
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Problem Statement:
Many courts in the state brought juveniles into court in leg shackles, belly chains and/or handcuffs. Shackling practices differed from county to county with some jurisdictions utilizing a presumption for shackling all youth brought before the court.
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Problem Points
Judges
Courtroom Staff
Detention Staff
Prosecutors
Sherriff
Defenders ?
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Allies
•MacArthur Models for Change•Defense Attorneys•Judges (some)•Law Students•Legislators (few)•Bar Association
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Strategies for Change
•Litigation: State v. EJC, State v. TAC
•Legislation:
•Grass Roots Advocacy: Chelan County
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
•Where to start?
•Who is responsible for the shackling of juveniles in the courtroom?
•What advocacy can be made at the individual and system levels to change the practice?
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Litigation
Despite several successful challenges requiring judges to make an individualized assessment of the need for restraints, the appellate court decisions were largely ignored
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Legislation
•Lobbied by UW Legislative Clinic Students•Naively believed the state legislature would do the right thing
•Bill killed as a result of a fiscal note submitted by counties that requested additional funds to increase staff and security in courtrooms.
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Advocacy
•Chelan County Washington Local Court Rule
No effect on other counties
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Court Rule
•Florida•Bar Association •Lobbying Supreme Court Justices•Public Comment
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Court Rule
•Effective/Strategic lobbying by youth
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Youth Advocacy / Voice•…I am currently incarcerated at Green Hill School. ..Shackling has made me feel like an animal... It is a distraction to me because rather than focusing on what I have to say, I’m focused on what other people are thinking of me, and on avoiding body movements that are painful and uncomfortable because of the shackles. In addition, being shackled makes me feel mistreated, ashamed and criminal. It has affected how my family sees me because they are afraid of me and I am unable to feel like a normal person when shackled. ..Shackling messes with a person’s state of mind because it makes you feel dangerous and degrades your sense of self.
•
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Resource Materials: •Cornerstone Article on Shackling in Florida debunking the arguments in support of shackling juveniles. May 2007 issue. http://www.nlada.org/News/News_Pubs/Publications/Cornerstone_Issues
DEAN'S COLUMN: UNCHAIN THE CHILDREN, 20 Nevada Lawyer 30 By Prof. Mary Berkheiser. http://nvbar.org/articles/content/deans-column-unchain-children. A brief overview of recent changes in CA and FL, then a call for change to end indiscriminate shackling in Clark county Nevada, the only county in Nevada currently with a policy to shackling all juveniles.
•Lawrence Tribe, Department of Justice Senior Counselor for Access to Justice Keynote speech to Chief Justices http://www.justice.gov/atj/opa/pr/speeches/2010/atj-speech-100726.html
How We Shook the Shackles in Washington
Resource Materials: •Unchain the Children: Five Years Later in Florida CARLOS J. MARTINEZ Miami Public Defender http://pdmiami.com/unchainthechildren.htm . A description of how Florida came to its new legislation, and how it has been a success with no escapes or court outbreaks due to unshackled youth.
•Lawrence Tribe, Department of Justice Senior Counselor for Access to Justice Keynote speech to Chief Justices http://www.justice.gov/atj/opa/pr/speeches/2010/atj-speech-100726.html
•Lawrence Tribe, Department of Justice Senior Counselor for Access to Justice Keynote speech to Chief Justices http://www.justice.gov/atj/opa/pr/speeches/2010/atj-speech-100726.html
Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.
–Reinhold Niebuhr
Food for Thought
David [email protected]
646-942-6343National Juvenile Defender Center, Washington, DC
I am trying to be everywhere. If I haven’t reached out to you, it’s my fault. Not yours.
Please don’t hesitate to take the initiative.
Contact me!
Contact:Melissa [email protected]
Contact
National Juvenile Justice Network1319 F Street, NW, Suite 402Washington, D.C. 20004www.njjn.org
For more information, check out NJJN’s new policy update at: http://njjn.org/uploads/digital-
library/Shackling-in-Court-Hearing_FINAL.pdf
