Blanco v. State

The state moved to have the defendant, a fifteen-year-old juvenile, tried as an adult for the offense of armed robbery. The court granted the motion and, thereafter, a jury found him guilty as charged. We reject the defendant’s present claims that the trial court erred in ordering him shackled during jury selection and at trial, and in sentencing him as an adult.

The court is under an obligation to maintain safety and security in the courtroom. This obligation outweighs, under proper circumstances, the risk that the security measures may impair the defendant’s presumption of innocence. Diaz v. *133…