U.S. v. Durham.

• Position: ACCESS TO COURT - Brief Article

U.S. District Court

STUN BELT

U.S. v. Durham, 219 F.Supp.2d 1234 (N.D.Fla. 2002). A defendant moved to prohibit the use of a restraining device known as a "stun belt" during his trial. The district court denied the motion and the defendant was convicted. The defendant successfully appealed his conviction. The defendant again moved to prohibit the use of the stun belt and the district court denied the motion, finding its use was warranted. The court noted that the defendant had repeatedly attempted to escape from custody and that less restrictive measures would not have been sufficient. According to the court, the stun belt did not pose any health risk to the defendant and the chance of accidental discharge was 0.01746%. The court found no evidence that the device caused self-urination or...