Court wear, the good, the bad

[Mike in Seattle]

I read "court wear" and thought "summertime" and thought tennis whites and sweaters, or folks out lawn bowling or playing croquet... :eusa_doh:

 

[Lone_Ranger]

Remember this woman?

Juror wears Star Trek Uniform

She's dressed better, than most of the people, I see in court. With the exception of the lawyers, and judges.

Maybe, if she wore the Class-A's, from Wrath of Kahn, and beyond it would have been more appropriate?

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

However, the jury were sickening. The best dressed member wore a short sleeved shirt and dress trousers. The worst wore a T-shirt and jeans. While I don't expect full morning dress, I think a shirt and tie shouldn't be too hard to obtain. I don't blame witnesses who had to be arrested and brought into court for dressing badly, but those who knew months in advance that they would be in court could have dressed better.

Caveat: I've been in court all of once, and I didn't end up as a juror, so my experience is minimal. I believe the dress instructions were "business casual", or something along those lines. I wore a skirt, slightly dressy knit top, and black knit blazer-style jacket (it looked better than it sounds - trust me). It was summer, so 'most everyone stuck with the "business casual" look. Dress slacks/khakis and button-down shirts on the men, and nice knit tops or blouses with slacks or skirts on the women. The lawyers wore suits. I may have seen a few potential jurors wearing suits.

I think it's imperative that a jury be comfortable. Were I a defendant, I do *not* think I'd want the jury in uncomfortable clothes, stifling, just waiting until they could flee. But a certain amount of respect is required. Who wants to be judged by a group of people who can't be bothered to show at least a little respect for the seriousness of the proceedings?

 

[KittyT]

I don't know if I'd ever expect a jury to dress up to the nines, they're just normal people, they haven't been 'hired' per se, most of them don't even want to be there! They aren't trying to impress anyone.

Of course you're right, but it's still a common mark of respect that most people lack in our modern age.

I'm not talking dressing up, I'm talking about looking decent, in something other than jeans and a tshirt. I would probably wear the most comfortable business casual stuff I have for work.

 

[Undertow]

When I accepted jury duty, I treated it as a serious public responsibilty. Thus, I made sure to suit up. Others commented and thought I was strange, but in any case, I felt it was necessary to at least appear I was taking my position seriously. I guess it falls along the same lines as weddings, funerals, job interviews and special public appearances (which I occasionally deem necessary ).

I can see where folks don't find it necessary to dress up for anything anymore. It's a shame. I guess that's the direction we're all headed towards. Someday, we may have to change the name of this forum to "The Sweat Pants and Tennis Shoes Lounge". [huh]