Under a policy adopted this week by the Maryland Court of Appeals and the state Judicial Council, juvenile suspects will no longer be routinely shackled in Maryland Juvenile Courts. As reported in The Baltimore Sun:

Maryland joins Washington, D.C., and 21 other states that have ended juvenile shackling by law, rule or policy, DeWolfe said.

The degree to which juvenile suspects were shackled varied by jurisdiction, DeWolfe said. In Baltimore and in many counties on the Eastern Shore, child suspects were often shackled with handcuffs, body and leg restraints, he said.

In Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties, juveniles were often shackled at their hands and feet but were allowed to remove the handcuffs during court proceedings, he said. Other counties such as Montgomery and Prince George’s already had stopped the practice.

Under the new policy, judges will still have discretion to shackle suspects in the event of “a particularized security concern.”

For more information read the full article in The Baltimore Sun.