Plans for a glass enclosure in Marin County's only juvenile courtroom

The authors wrote that the proposal — intended as a security measure — would send a message that all juvenile suspects are “too violent or dangerous to be afforded the same dignity and respect as that afforded to adults on trial for committing alleged acts of murder, mayhem or child molestation.”

The plan would require minors to appear before judges from inside a glass box about 8 feet tall, regardless of whether they are suspected of committing violent offenses.

Kim Turner, Marin’s executive court officer, defended the plan earlier this week, citing budget issues that have decreased the availability of bailiffs and an increase in cases involving serious offenses.

Friday’s letter cited past court cases that the defense attorneys said proved the new plan would violate the civil liberties of minors.

Confining kids in a glass contraption, they wrote, would be an “affront to the dignity and decorum of judicial proceedings” and would breed “disrespect for the entire judicial system.”