The Jersey Lawyer

In State v. Kuchera, decided today by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the Court held that witnesses for the prosecution in criminal trial who are also prisoners should not appear in front of a jury in shackles or prison garb unless the trial court determines that the witness is a sufficient security risk that shackling of the witness is justified.  A New Jersey criminal defense lawyer is a valuable asset to any defendant accused of a crime in New Jersey in helping that defendant navigate the various procedural and substantive aspects of a criminal prosecution. 

Both the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey guarantee defendants the right to a fair trial before an impartial jury.  This means that defendants are presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.  It also means that a defendant’s guilt should be determined only based upon the evidence introduced against that defendant at the time of trial.  A defendant’s guilt should not be determined based upon extraneous factors such as the fact that the government suspects the defendant has committed a crime, the fact that the government is keeping the defendant in custody during his trial, or any possible impression made upon the jury based on the fact that witnesses testifying on behalf of the defendant are shackled or wearing prison garb.

Courts have consistently recognized that the appearance of a witness in a courtroom in prison garb or shackles automatically undermines the credibility of that witness because it leads the jury to believe that the defendant must turn to somebody who is already “guilty” in order to save his own case.   Based on these reasons, the New Jersey Supreme Court has held that a prisoner who is a witness on behalf of a defendant should only appear in restraints if, after a hearing, the trial judge determines that physical restraint is reasonably necessary to maintain the security of the courtroom.

The question presented in State v. Kuchera, however, was whether prisoners testifying for the prosecution against the defendant can appear before a jury in shackles or prison garb without a hearing on whether physical restraint is necessary for courtroom security.  The Supreme Court decided that there is no principled reason why the same analysis that applies to defense witnesses should not also apply to prosecution witnesses.  Therefore, prosecution witnesses who are prisoners should also not appear in court in front of a jury in shackles or prison garb unless the trial judge, after conducting a hearing, determines that the witness poses a risk to courtroom security.  If the trial judge determines that the witness does pose a risk to courtroom security and orders the witness to be shackled, the trial judge should clearly instruct the jury that it should give the fact that the witness is shackled no consideration whatsoever in analyzing the credibility of the witness.

If you have been accused of a crime in the State of New Jersey, contact a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer for assistance in your case.  For more information related to recent criminal defense issues in New Jersey, Nace Naumoski has also written articles about anonymous tips, intent requirement for robbery, lie detector test evidence, and the automobile exception to the search warrant requirement.