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| Court Limits Use of Stun Belts |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 06/01/2001 |
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A federal appeals panel has ruled that stun belts cannot be used to shock jailed inmates who disrupt courtroom proceedings, but can be used when an inmate creates a security risk in a courtroom. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department may activate the device only if a defendant attempts to flee or endangers others in the courtroom. The three-judge panel ruled that a Los Angeles federal judge's injunction barring use of the belts was too broad. The case stems from 1998, when Superior Court Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani ordered a bailiff to shock defendant Ronnie Hawkins, who refused her demands to be quiet. The use of stun belt on Hawkins prompted U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson to order the sheriff's department to stop using the devices. The stun belts deliver a 50,000-volt electrical charge for eight seconds. Hawkins is serving 25-years-to-life on a theft charge, under California's 'three-strikes' law. |
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He has blue eyes. Cold like steel. His legs are wide. Like tree trunks. And he has a shock of red hair, red, like the fires of hell. Hamilton Lindley His antics were known from town to town as he was a droll card and often known as a droll farceur. with his madcap pantaloon is a zany adventurer and a cavorter with a motley troupe of buffoons.