I think this is a FQ
I saw a video where a judge said that a person’s shirt is inappropriate and the defendant was lucky the judge didn’t make them change it. I know that there is such a thing as contempt of court but I also know that some judges are tyrants and all about “Respect my authority.” and things such as not rising will get you hit with contempt. Specific to clothing, are judges allowed to implement dress codes in their court room? If push came to shove, can they legally require me to remove my hat? If they hold me in contempt for wearing “Fuck tha Police” shirt, is that not a violation of my freedom of speech/expression? Can a judge require that men not wear earrings or women wear skirts or dresses?
I get the whole Respect The Court thing, but as an arm of the government, aren’t there limitations as to what they can require clothing-wise to enforce that respect?
No person shall appear in Court barefoot, shirtless, wearing a tank top, wearing sunglasses, or dress in any manner reflecting poorly upon the dignity of the Court and its decorum. The bailiffs of the Court are to remove any person violating this rule. This rule does not limit any judge from additionally prescribing appropriate attire or conduct rules in the Courtroom.
I’m not saying the rules aren’t there. My question is if pushed, are those rules legal? Say for example I’m in California I’m jailed over the weekend for contempt for wearing a tanktop in court. I sue saying that wearing a tanktop did not disrupt proceedings and you cannot be arrested or jailed for perceived disrespect if it does not hinder government processes because I have a right to freedom of expression through my clothes. Or better yet. I refuse to take off my sunglasses in court to remind the judge that Justice is blind. Where would that lawsuit go? Would I win?
If not, how is the Court different than cops or guv’ment drones who I can legally disrespect (but not actively hinder) under freedom of speech?
You might win the fight over the contempt charge, especially in a blue state.
As a practical matter, though, your lawyer will advise you not to tick off the judge. And to dress up. Jurors are more likely to convict someone in a tank top, and more likely to acquit someone in a suit and tie.
In Los Angeles when I would go to court on a traffic infraction, people would think I was a lawyer because I wore work slacks (think Dockers) a dress shirt and a tie - not even close to a suit. And yes, it did make a difference. Here in NE Colorado, at least people wear their best jeans and a polo shirt (M) / top that covers the boobs (F) to court.
I’ve been on jury duty a ton of times here in the Los Angeles area, and even though the official standards are for business/business casual, those standards in practice have been loosening over the decades. Last summer at the Torrance courthouse, a ton of jurors wore t-shirts and jeans.
I believe you would lose (but of course this is not legal advice, and IANAL). IIRC, clothing by itself (that is, without something more, like a message) is not considered expression and it’s very hard to (successfully) argue that a legislative enactment, or a court operating pursuant to its powers under either a state constitution or some other legislative enactment, is acting irrationally.
Now, by contrast, if you really were to show up with a jacket that said “Fuck the Police” or words to that effect, you might just have a good first amendment case for that. In fact, IIRC, there is a fairly on-point case about someone showing up to court wearing a jacket that said “Fuck the draft” (which ought to tell you how long ago the matter was decided) and having the Supreme Court ultimately rule that it was expression within the protections of the first amendment, demanding greater protection than mere clothing choice.
I wonder what would happen if someone changed their name to Albert Fuckthepolice. Have their been rulings on whether such names must be respected in official proceedings?
More likely (just a wag) there have been cases on whether states can restrict what sort of surnames you can adopt. Perhaps even what names you can give your children according to a birth certificate or other state-issued document.
What about the economic impact? Some people don’t even own any “nice” clothing (at least, not “nice” by the standards of the court), but such people are just as likely as anyone else, if not more, to have need of the protection of the court. And yes, I know that many lawyers have suits they can loan to their clients, but surely that’s not a given?
Yes, I had previously seen lawyers bringing in clothing for their clients to change into - have you not seen video coverage of some of the more notorious serial killers [sort of my current rabbithole, set youtube to something and let it sort of bumble around - somehow I went from Wake Island to serial killer cases they have found answers to, to BTK. I have no idea where it will go next, maybe Han Chinese mining techniques?] I mean, they show up dressed somberly [in most cases, Ramirez the Night Stalker was his own little insane issue] rather than in prison orange [or tan for Leavenworth, and I remember seeing one prison shot with them in blue scrubs. Those actually look comfortable, I have 4 or 5 sets of scrubs I tend to wear around if something is going to be messy. Suckers wear like iron!]
Any time I have ended up in court, observing or attending for one reason or another, I have what I joke are my goin’ to court clothing - black leather mary jane flat shoes, black heavy cotton palazzo pants, a modest round necked undershirt [think black silk tshirt] and a light jacket [mandarin collar, almost mao jacket. I really miss them, they went up in flames with the house. Think of it as a bare step up from business casual.
There is a reason My Cousin Vinnie is an absolute hoot, but is actually pretty good at showing what goes on behind to court - Pesche’s character goes through hell trying to figure out what to wear to court.
I can’t imagine much other than DUI for traffic court denizens that end up with a lawyer of any sort. If it is an accident scene court case [which would frequently be with a lawyer because of insurance companies, and a lot of those I got stuck going to watch the proceedings were pretty much lawyer vs lawyer subrogation]
In the serial killer stuff I am currently mired deep in, it looks like first arraignment you are in whatever they arrested you in, or jail scrubs [jail vs prison] and the later actual longer court proceedings the clients are dressed in clothing brought specifially for gcgoing to court in.
My one and only foray into court to sue someone one of the parties to the circus showed up in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt she’d been wearing more than one day. I will also point out that the first words out of her mouth were an apology to the judge and to state she’d been rendered homeless two days prior and had been living out of her van, without access to most of her possessions including most of her clothes due in no small part to the actions of the party I was suing (it’s complicated - don’t want to clutter up this thread more than necessary). The judge let it pass, but I think that was in large part because 1) apology acknowledge the clothing was not up to standard and 2) explanation.
So, I think The Court is probably willing to make exceptions, provided you go about it in a respectful manner. Will also point out this was a civil case and no jury was involved.
But you DEFINITELY do not ever want to piss off a judge.
Again, this was involving civil proceedings, but during my “day in court” I saw a number of people wearing what were clearly employer-mandated sorts of clothing - think Walmart polos, mechanic’s shirts with their name embroidered on it, etc. These were people who were either coming from work directly to court, or who would have to go directly to work afterwards. Such outfits did not seem to be a problem.
Criminal cases are another matter, for that I’d consult a lawyer.
I read that just a couple of months ago as a prospective juror. This is Santa Barbara. No one dressed up. I was far from the only one in a tshirt and jeans. I was asked to take my knit cap (beenie) off. Oddly, we were made to wear masks in the jury assembly room. They said that some judges still required them but ours did not.
Hmmmm. Ok, I guess I’ll have to change my clothing categorisation.
For the last 10+ years or so, my one and only suit has been described as the ‘weddings-funerals-job interviews’ outfit. Guess I’ll update the label (don’t need to, I hasten to add).
I will just offer that there may be a wide gap between “what should you wear to court?” and “what can you wear to court?” You probably should, if you can, wear a suit or similar. But you probably can just wear whatever you have on when you go to work. And of course during the Zoom years (which I understand haven’t really ended in some places for the low level stuff) you could wear whatever you have on in your bedroom.
But do at least wear a shirt. I wasn’t on that zoom hearing, but I heard about it.