In DC the jurors are asked to wear business attire, but doesn’t define what business attire is. So I guess if you’re a cheff you can wear your white coveralls and puffy soufflé hat. My business attire is dockers and a “nice-casual” button shirt.
No tie.
Off track. I did jury service (as our clerk of courts likes to call it) a few months ago and we were treated royally. They were lucky to be able to get enough jurors to seat panels. I sat on two panels and got disqualified from one but was foreman on the other. No one wore a tie except for the attorneys (in the sunny South).
I used to wear a suit and tie at work and preferred Windsor knots. I have several dozen ties which I tied only once, then removed them each day by slipping them over my head. I still have them, in a couple of boxes from my most recent move.
That reminds me, I haven’t been paid for my jury service yet. I must call them.
I think the tie is not outdated, because it’s part of a suit. Jeans and T-shirts are therfore out, but casual slacks and shirt only are out, too.
As for doing your civic duty and facts, not dress shouldn’t matter: why do the judges and lawyers still wear robes, then? And why does everybody rise when the judge enters the room? * Out of respect for the whole process and the importance of a correct trial and justice in a civilsed society. This isn’t a football game, it’s serious, so you should dress accordingly.
*Despite Fritz Teufels famous quote, when he was asked to rise for the court “Wenn’s der Wahrheitsfindung dient” (If that’s necessary to find the truth).
I forgot to note: I’m female, and I generally consider suits stupid, and ties even more stupid (restricting the blood flow to the brain :)). If a situation doesn’t call for a suit, I get wary, because too often con man (or bankers, which is almost the same) will dress up in a suit because it impresses people, and makes them appear serious and trustworthy; and because of this mechanism, I usually distrust people in suits.
But still, there are occasions which call for formal dress, which still is a suit with a tie.
Sure, because everybody knows having a strip of cloth around your neck means you’re serious! Nothing superficial about that, nope! Not a thing! Now go away. Nothing to see here …
Probably never slit someone’s throat either.
I wore a tie for 15 years and was not a big fan of them. They contributed to headaches and generally did nothing toward a dress code. I’ll wear one when you wear a corset.
And as noble as it sounds to serve on a jury it really boils down to a defense lawyer who’s paid to find the most uninformed group of 12 on the planet. Not only is it not a jury of one’s peers it’s set up to be the exact opposite. The goal is to find someone without any opinion or expertise on the subject at hand.
I wore a tie at work for at least 12 years and now work at home and wear one about five or six times a year. I don’t miss it, but I’m not afraid of it, either
All I can say to those who complain about headaches and nooses and such is that you should learn how to buy clothes (i.e., shirt collars) that fit.
And I feel sorry for people who don’t own ties or suits, because they’re missing out on significant areas of human experience. That, or they are offending others by showing up at places like funerals, weddings, and other formal events dressed inappropriately.
I was a free spirit once who thought that the symbolism of clothing was silly and pointless, who never wanted to wear a tie, and who thought that people should judge me on my character, not my clothes. Then I grew up.
My condolences.
You know, clothes aren’t a pain (physically) to wear, if they freaking fit. Buy a long enough tie and don’t choke your damn self with it. And buy a shirt with a big enough collar and you won’t feel strangled.
I swear to God that Americans on average are the slobbiest people ever*. What is so hard about dressing up to go to a courthouse? It’s about respect, people. I’m currently a bank teller (hopefully moving to something better soon) and I wear (women’s) suits to work, even though only the head teller needs to do that. Why not? They look nice and professional and they freaking fit properly and so they’re perfectly comfortable. They’re more comfortable than my proper fitting jeans, really. And you know what? Even though I’m one of the younger ones (with a baby face on top of that), I’ve been mistaken for a supervisor or trainer and get treated with a lot more respect.
It doesn’t kill you to dress up. And sorry, when I hear arguments like “why should I be uncomfortable?”, “what does it matter if I dress how I want?”, etc etc etc, all that makes me think is that I’m listening to a selfish person.
At least here in the States, the attorneys don’t wear robes. The judge does but that is about it. The attorneys wear a suit with a tie. I have seen some of the older attorneys wear bowties and I could swear that the Judge was wearing one the last time I was in court.
I agree with zweisankeit in that a properly fitted dress shirt shouldn’t be tight, nor should a suit. I don’t mean that you have a suit tailored but try on more than one, if the clerk says that it should be snug, ignore him because he doesn’t know what he is talking about. A suit shouldn’t be uncomfortable. I don’t wear one everyday for work since I don’t usually have to, but when I do, I’m not uncomfortable.
I had jury duty in federal court last fall and dressed just like I do for my regualr job.
Mon-Thurs I wore a nice, pressed shirt, slacks, and casual shoes. Friday I wore jeans, tennis-shoes, and a polo shirt. I was never the worst-dressed person in court. Probably never in the bottom 50%.
I only wear ties to job interviews.
…and what is it that it says?
I doubt a tie would look good on an orange jump suit, but nice try.
You obviously don’t know much about corsets! 
I can guarantee if I put you in one for 5 minutes, you would gladly trade for the necktie. I would compare a tie more to pantyhose in terms of discomfort, so women are more than familiar with being a little uncomfortable in order to look nice.
No offense, but I think that’s a specious analogy. There are obvious reasons why it would be impractical to dig through the dirt, haul cargo or pour concrete while wearing a suit, sport coat or tie.
In contrast, the courtroom is one arena in which seriousness, propriety and respect are at a premium. I would wear a tie in such situations, even though I almost never do so in my day-to-day life.
Probably best to mention this to the judge during jury selection. :rolleyes:
I’m a big lover of the suit-and-tie look. I really love to see men dressed that way. Find it a bit of a turn-on, actually. And I think it makes men look and behave better, in general.
One of our regular customers is a very good-looking man a few years older than me. Very distinguished-looking ex-cop, who always wears a suit in his job. He looks great. He came in one day on Saturday, dressed in his jeans and a polo and tennis shoes, and I almost didn’t recognize him…it was not a good look for him. He looked heavier and out of shape and ( I know I’ll catch hell for this) less intelligent and less prosperous. I much prefer him in a suit.
My son just started Catholic high school a couple of weeks ago. At his Catholic grade school there were certain choices the kids could make–shirts and ties, turtlenecks, and at certain times of year, golf shorts. Virtually all the boys did NOT wear ties.
No such choice at his high school: ties are mandatory. I helped him the first few days and he can now tie a very nice, simple knot. That being said, we have friends with an older boy in the same school who still doesn’t know how. His dad or mom ties it, and if he has to change for gym, he slips off the tie without unknotting it so he can slip it right back on.
Based on my experience, I’d speculate that there are a good number of adult guys whose tie-tying expertise ranges from (1) complete ignorance to (2) struggling to come up with something that vaguely resembles a knotted tie. Maybe they didn’t go to Catholic school. Maybe they couldn’t be bothered learning. I work in an office now, and if I don’t have a meeting at the corporate office, I can go a year without tying a tie. I’m sure there are guys who almost never have the occasion to tie a tie these days.
(BTW, I have no problem with the judge’s request. Just commenting on #2.)
Which I don’t get - how can any adult man in western society, as long as he’s literate, be unable to knot a tie? Yes, he may not have learned it when growing up, and he may not have needed it during his job so far. But there’s the internet. There’s the public library with a book on 20 or 50 different types of knots, with nice little pictures. You can ask an older male friend or relative.
(And although I’m female, I know this because some guys have forgotten which part goes where to tie the knot after not doing it for the last 20 or 30 years, so they go and look it up.)
I don’t own one of those horrid “sports coats” things either.
I don’t mind dressing up. If there were such a thing as men’s fashion, I’d probably buy some of it. (And I did go to a wedding once, and paid the tailors at Dunhill to modify a garment they called a “smoking jacket” until it bore some reasonable resemblance to attractive clothing).
I look awful in any variant on those jackets where the left and right sides only meet down around your navel and split in a big V upwards from there. Except for fabric, they all look pretty much the same, boringly symmetrical…they’re uncomfortable (the shoulders puff upwards when you move)… I have no chest and I’m tall and smallboned with narrow shoulders and those things look ridiculous on me.