MULTNOMAH COUNTY gets a lot of use out of its shackles.
As a matter of course, prisoners who have hearings in the county courthouse have their hands cuffed, their legs in irons, and their arm movement constrained by a third chain around their waist. They are marched through the courthouse’s public hallways like this, and—unless appearing before a jury—typically remain at least partially restrained throughout their hearings.
It’s been this way for years, but the county’s shackling policy—along with the policies of an untold number of courts—has been ruled unconstitutional.