SHACKLES NO LONGER SURE THING AT COURT JUVENILES GETTING BREAK FROM PANEL.Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer LANCASTER -- A state appeals court has set aside a Lancaster Juvenile Court juvenile court Special court handling problems of delinquent, neglected, or abused children. Two types of cases are processed by a juvenile court: civil matters, often concerning care of an abandoned or impoverished child, and criminal matters, arising from antisocial judge's blanket policy Blanket policy is a policy which behaves similarly to a varaity of things. Based on Webster's Dictionary it "covers a group or class of things or properties instead of one or more things mentioned individually, as where a mortgage secures various debts as a group, or subjects a requiring all minors who appear in delinquency court to be shackled with chains at the ankles. The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that the sheriff's deputies who provide courtroom security and prosecutors must justify in advance why a particular minor should be restrained. "In our view, the use of physical restraints upon minors who appear in the Lancaster Juvenile Delinquency juvenile delinquency, legal term for behavior of children and adolescents that in adults would be judged criminal under law. In the United States, definitions and age limits of juveniles vary, the maximum age being set at 14 years in some states and as high as 21 Court must be based on a showing that such restraints are necessary for each individual minor irrespective of irrespective of prep. Without consideration of; regardless of. irrespective of preposition despite the type of hearing or proceeding," said the ruling, issued Monday. The three-judge appellate panel ruled in favor of a 16-year-old minor, identified in the decision as Tiffany A., who had challenged the policy of Juvenile Court Judge Richard Naranjo and was denied. The girl was released from custody in September. Prosecutors said they were disappointed with the decision and felt the burden should fall on the defense as to why a minor should be unrestrained, a policy upheld in the federal courts. The Juvenile Court, known as Department 285, has had the policy of putting ankle shackles on all detained minors who appear in court for at least two years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time ruling said. The policy was adopted because of the number of unlocked exits and unsecured hallways in the courtroom and because of the lack of sheriff's personnel available to monitor the facility, the ruling said. Sheriff's officials said the risk of minors escaping is significant given the design of the courtroom and location of the courthouse. The Juvenile Court is housed in the former Lancaster Superior Court at 10th Street West and Avenue J that handled adult criminal cases, among other things. The appeals court ruled that courtroom conditions and safety concerns cannot be the only consideration when determining the use of restraints. " ... Any decision to shackle shackle a bar 2.5 ft long with an iron loop at either end, used in restraint of large pigs. A chain is threaded through the loops and around the lower hindlimbs of the pig. When the chain is pulled the pig is stretched and is cast with the limbs held wide apart. a minor who appears in the Juvenile Delinquency Court for a court proceeding must be based on the nonconforming conduct and behavior of that individual minor," according to the ruling. The justices also said shackling shackling see shackle. a juvenile goes against the minor's right to due process and presumption of innocence A principle that requires the government to prove the guilt of a criminal defendant and relieves the defendant of any burden to prove his or her innocence. The presumption of innocence, an ancient tenet of Criminal Law, is actually a misnomer. According to the U.S. . The shackles also create the "very tone of criminality juvenile proceedings were intended to avoid." karen.maeshiro@dailynews.com (661) 267-5744 |
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