Dylan shuffled into the courtroom, escorted by armed guards. In tears, his mother watched from the front row at the sight of her 13-year-old in shackles.
Last month, deputy public defender Kenneth Pace used the anecdote to start a local discussion about the practice of indiscriminately shackling juveniles in courtrooms. He hopes local officials will follow the lead of other jurisdictions in Colorado to change its restraint policy.
During his Oct. 20 presentation to law enforcement and court officials, Pace continued, saying when the judge called Dylan's case that the boy struggled to stand before shuffling to the lectern. The chains jingled and clanked. Dylan was bound tightly at his wrists and ankles. Wrapped around his waist, a leather belt with metal rings connected chains to his hands and feet. Days later, small red bruises would testify to the impact of the restraints.
Unaccused of a violent crime or resisting arrest, Dylan stood scared and confused as the judge read him his rights and questioned whether he understood. With the nod of his lawyer, Dylan indicated he did before hobbling back to the jury box.
"There was no indication from anything in Dylan's history that would suggest restraints were necessary to keep him calm or under control," Pace told criminal justice officials last month. "There was no evidence that they were necessary to prevent him from escaping, or to prevent him from attempting to hurt someone in the courtroom. And yet he sat, bound like an animal, and put on display to the courtroom and to his family."
Pace said similar incidents happened in a Montezuma County courtroom almost every week of the year.
Ann Roan, training director for the Colorado State Public Defender, said defense attorneys were not requesting a blanket decision to end shackling, because some youth can pose security and flight risk. She reiterated that the dangerous juveniles were a "small fraction" of the total juveniles, some as young as 10, awaiting trial.
"Everywhere that shackling has been abolished, there's been an improvement in courtroom safety," added Roan.
Roan cited, for example, in Miami-Dade County some 20,000 youths were detained in the criminal justice system from 2006 to 2011. During that five-year span, authorities in the South Florida metro area, where shackles were abolished, didn't report a single escape attempt.
As a mother and criminal defense attorney, Roan cautioned naysayers that there was no downside to limit youth shackling.
"When you treat a kid like a criminal, they start acting like criminals," she said.
Shackling youth provides courtroom security, officials say, and serves as a psychological deterrent to prevent teens from committing offenses.
Pace contends that when society labels children "delinquents" or when they are paraded around in irons, the result harms their psyche.
"When they see their parents crying because they have to shuffle across the floor in ankle cuffs, the psychological effect makes them feel that they are nothing more than a disappointment to their family and community," said Pace.
Pace said the practice also permits observers, including parents, lawyers and judges, to act differently toward the child and that the practice was also unconstitutional.
"It's an issue about protecting kids from unnecessary physical and psychological trauma," he said.
Florida, Massachusetts, New York and Washington have eliminated the indiscriminate shackling of youth in delinquency proceedings. In 2013, a bill that included a provision to remove restraints from teens during court appearances failed in the Colorado House.
Currently, Jefferson, Gilpin, Pueblo, Boulder and La Plata counties prohibit indiscriminate shackling. El Paso, Teller and Arapahoe counties only allow hand restraints.
The 22nd Judicial District chief judge would ultimately decide any policy change in Montezuma and Dolores counties. Court officials said the current policy was under review, and declined further comment.
If the court failed to take action, the issue could be addressed by county commissioners or through litigation.
An email requesting comment from Montezuma County Sheriff Dennis Spruell went unanswered. The sheriff's office is responsible for the custody of offenders and courthouse security.
Montezuma County Sheriff-elect Steve Nowlin said restraints used on teens should be decided case by case, taking into consideration the risk the youth may pose. Nowlin added that chaining teens charged with non-violent misdemeanors "would not be necessary."
Nowlin said any reform should come from the courts. He'd also expect signed documentation from the public defender's office accepting full responsibility for youths while in the courtroom.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com
