Opinion ID: 1093261
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: did the trial court err by denying a motion for mistrial after fisher was led into the courtroom in shackles?

Text: When the trial commenced, Fisher was led into the courtroom wearing leg irons, which were removed as soon as he was seated. The jury were seated in the courtroom at the time, though there was testimony that they could not have seen the shackles. A defense motion for a mistrial was denied. Our leading case on this question is Rush v. State, 301 So.2d 297 (Miss. 1974). The general principle was stated thus: It is a common-law right of a person being tried for the commission of a crime to be free from all manner of shackles or bonds, whether of hands or feet, when in court in the presence of the jury, unless in exceptional cases where there is evident danger of his escape or in order to protect others from an attack by the prisoner. Whether that ought to be done is in the discretion of the court, based upon reasonable grounds for apprehension. But, if this right is violated, it may be ground for the reversal of a judgment of conviction. 301 So.2d at 300. Here again the key word is may. Such an incident can be held harmless, as it was in Rush, where the defendant appeared in handcuffs through an oversight and the cuffs were immediately removed upon objection. 301 So.2d at 300. Moreover, the defense put on no evidence that any of the venire had actually seen the shackles. States have uniformly held that in the absence of such a showing, a technical violation is harmless. E.g., State v. McMurtrey, 136 Ariz. 93, 664 P.2d 637, 642 (1983); Burger v. State, 245 Ga. 458, 265 S.E.2d 796, 799 (1980); State v. Scott, 323 N.W.2d 790, 792 (Minn. 1982).