Suit seeks to limit shackling of immigration detainees in court

August 17, 2011 | 1:43pm

Civil rights attorneys in San Francisco have sued federal authorities, demanding an end to the alleged practice of shackling all adult detainees -- even the elderly and disabled -- during immigration court proceedings.

The class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, contends that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security are violating the constitutional rights of detainees by failing to make case-by-case determinations of the need for shackling.

“Physical restraints are meant for those who pose significant risk to themselves or others,â€