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NO MORE SHACKLES FOR JUVENILES

By JAABLOG

Florida takes another step out of the dark ages today courtesy of the Supreme Court's ruling IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE.Here's the relevant lingo:"We find the indiscriminate shackling of children in Florida courtrooms as described in the NJDC's Assessment repugnant, degrading, humiliating, and contrary to the stated primary purposes of the juvenile justice system and to the principles of therapeutic justice, a concept which this Court has previously acknowledged. See In re Report of Family Court Steering Committee, 794 So. 2d 518, 523 (Fla. 2001) (approving guiding principles for family court, including that "therapeutic justice" should be a key part of the family court process). We also recognize, without deciding, that indiscriminate use of restraints on children in the courtroom in juvenile delinquency proceedings may violate the children's due process rights and infringe on their right to counsel...continue to full post

Full post as published by JAABlog on December 17, 2009 (boomark / email).