Bar takes stand against presumptive shackling: 'it is a shocking sight to see 20 or 30 children shackled'.

The Bar Board of Governors have endorced a procedural rule prohibiting the presumptive shackling of children in delinquency appearances.

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The board took the action as it reviewed proposed rule amendments for traffic, juvenile, and criminal court procedures at its July meeting.

One of the high profile matters was the proposed amendment to Juvenile Rule 8.100, which prohibits the routine shackling of children appearing in delinquency matters unless the court finds good reason for the restraints.

Rob Mason, immediate past chair of the Juvenile Court Rules Committee, noted that the Public Interest Law Section's Legal Needs of Children and the 11th Circuit Public Defender's Office spearheaded the effort to stop the indiscriminate shackling.

"The [rules] committee felt it was not necessary that that [shackling] happen and it should be an individual determination," Mason said. "There are dangerous children and there are flight risks and the court can rule on those. There should not be a presumption for shackling."

Board member Mayanne Downs, noting she had worked in juvenile court, agreed. "It is a shocking sight to see 20 or 30 children shackled," she said.

The committee voted 12-11 to propose the rule change. The board endorsed it 30-0. That amendment was part of the three-year cycle changes proposed by the Juvenile Procedures Rules Committee. The board endorsed the other recommended amendments 30-0...