On Nov. 1, Illinois will become the latest state to reform its juvenile shackling policy. Instead of shackling young people at random, judges will soon decide when minors need to be restrained in the courts, on a case by case basis.
Last week, Illinois’ chief justice, Rita Garman, ruled that minors can only be shackled after a special hearing is held to determine if a person poses a threat to safety or a flight risk. A judge ultimately has to make the determination — not prosecutors, officers, and other court personnel. In the past, shackling included the use of “handcuffs, leg shackles, leg irons, belly belts, belly chains, or other restraint devices used to restrict a minor’s free movement.” Under the new policy, the “least restrictive restraints” must be used when a judge concludes that shackling is warranted.
The rule changes were made after civil and juvenile rights organizations in Illinois collectively spoke out against the practice of “indiscriminate shackling” in the state Supreme Court.
According to a fact sheet written by the Illinois Justice Project (IJP), young boys and girls, regardless of their age, are randomly shackled with heavy, metal restraints. Doing so can cause high levels of “stress,” “trauma,” “fear,” and “humiliation.” Shackling also increases the likelihood that a minor will lash out.
IJP was one of the many organizations that requested changes to court rules that have permitted random shackling, despite a 1977 state Supreme Court decision that the restraints should only be used in “limited circumstances to maintain safety and order.”
“Shackling practices vary by county, but some judges have required shackling of every child entering a courtroom, regardless of the child’s age, the severity of the alleged offense, or the lack of any evidence that the child posed a threat to the security of anyone in the courtroom,” IJP’s deputy director, Era Laudermilk, wrote in a statement last week. “Because our Supreme Court justices understand that indiscriminate shackling of children runs counter to the rehabilitative purpose of juvenile courts, all children will be treated humanely in Illinois courtrooms.”
While the state won’t ban juvenile shackling entirely, Garman’s ruling indicates that the push to end it nationwide is building momentum. The National Conference of State Legislatures recently recorded 22 other states that now limit or ban the practice altogether.