United States v. Rene Sanchez-Gomez

Dissent by Judge Ikuta

KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge:

We consider whether a district court’s policy of routinely shackling all pretrial detainees in the courtroom is constitutional.

BACKGROUND

In 2013, the judges of the Southern District of California acceded to the U.S. Marshals Service’s request for “a district-wide policy of allowing the Marshals Service to produce all in-custody defendants in full restraints for most non-jury proceedings.” “Full restraints” means that a defendant’s hands are closely handcuffed together, these handcuffs are connected by chain to another chain running around the…