New York Prosecutors Training Institute
NYPTI Law - NYS Statutes
ยง 162-a. Use of restraints on children in courtrooms. (a) Use of
restraints. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) of this
section, restraints on children under the age of twenty-one, including,
but not limited to, handcuffs, chains, shackles, irons or straitjackets,
are prohibited in the courtroom.
(b) Exception. Permissible physical restraint consisting of handcuffs
or footcuffs that shall not be joined to each other may be used in the
courtroom during a proceeding before the court only if the court
determines on the record, after providing the child with an opportunity
to be heard, why such restraint is the least restrictive alternative
necessary to prevent:
(1) physical injury to the child or another person by the child;
(2) physically disruptive courtroom behavior by the child, as
evidenced by a recent history of behavior that presented a substantial
risk of physical harm to the child or another person, where such
behavior indicates a substantial likelihood of current physically
disruptive courtroom behavior by the child; or
(3) flight from the courtroom by the child, as evidenced by a recent
history of absconding from the court.
