Opinion ID: 1900638
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Handcuff Viewing

Text: The defendant also argues that his right to a fair trial and his right against self-incrimination were violated when he was escorted in handcuffs, prior to trial, past the jury room in the basement of the courthouse. Before jury selection, defense counsel requested that a new panel be seated because the defendant believed he had been seen by some members of the existing panel when he was brought handcuffed from the jail to the courthouse. The court denied the request, finding that even if the sighting had occurred there was no evidence the defendant was unduly prejudiced. Defense counsel refused a voir dire of the jurors on the matter, fearing it would only accentuate his client's guilty appearance. The defendant was present throughout the trial without handcuffs. We reject the defendant's argument. A brief and inadvertent exposure to jurors of a defendant in handcuffs, without more, is not so inherently prejudicial as to require a mistrial, especially when, as here, the defendant is afforded an opportunity for jury voir dire or precautionary instructions. E.g., United States v. Taylor, 562 F.2d 1345, 1359 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 432 U.S. 909, 97 S.Ct. 2958, 53 L.Ed.2d 1083 (1977); United States v. Larkin, 417 F.2d 617 (1st Cir.1969), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 1027, 90 S.Ct. 1271, 25 L.Ed.2d 536 (1970). The entry is: Judgment affirmed. All concurring.