Bill Text: NY S04865 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the use of restraints on children appearing before family court.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-06-20 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S04865 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S04865-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4865 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 3, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BONACIC -- (at request of the Office of Court Admin- istration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to use of restraints on children appearing before the family court The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The family court act is amended by adding a new section 2 162-a to read as follows: 3 § 162-a. Use of restraints on children in courtrooms. (a) Use of 4 restraints. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) of this 5 section, restraints on children under the age of twenty-one, including, 6 but not limited to, handcuffs, chains, shackles, irons or straitjackets, 7 are prohibited in the courtroom. 8 (b) Exception. Permissible physical restraint consisting of handcuffs 9 or footcuffs that shall not be joined to each other may be used in the 10 courtroom during a proceeding before the court only if the court deter- 11 mines on the record, after providing the child with an opportunity to be 12 heard, why such restraint is the least restrictive alternative necessary 13 to prevent: 14 (1) physical injury to the child or another person by the child; 15 (2) physically disruptive courtroom behavior by the child, as 16 evidenced by a recent history of behavior that presented a substantial 17 risk of physical harm to the child or another person, where such behav- 18 ior indicates a substantial likelihood of current physically disruptive 19 courtroom behavior by the child; or 20 (3) flight from the courtroom by the child, as evidenced by a recent 21 history of absconding from the court. 22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06881-01-7