Court wear, the good, the bad

[avedwards]

The past week I was in court for work experience. Other than finding a certain rape trial disturbing due to the amount of detail the witnesses were asked to give (enough said) I found the clothing to be interesting to share here.

The judge wore proper robes and a proper wig. I don't think anyone on this forum would have any reason to be disappointed with His Honor in way of dressing appropriately.

The barristers were not quite as good. They wore wing-neck collared shirt which were appropriate enough, the strange neckwear worn by lawyers, regular business suits (though the prosectution lawyer also wore a waistcoat as well), robes and wigs. Their wigs bothered me because they fit more like a hat, failing to properly cover their hair.

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.

And just so as not to appear hypocritical, I wore two or three piece suits each day of the week. I am afraid I did wear a beige coloured one once though which I realised later wasn't really that appropriate. I did also wear respectable coloured shirts (white or blue), respectably patterned ties and I took my hat off as soon as I entered the court.

 

[Undertow]

I find your perspective on appropriate court dress interesting; this coming from a US resident who's not familiar with anything otherwise. Thanks for your post! :cool2:

 

[avedwards]

How do people dress in courts in the US?

And just to answer a question which will probably be asked, this is a Crown Court meaning it deals with criminal law with anything up to murder.

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

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.

 

[MisterCairo]

In Canada, for both criminal and civil courts, the judges are always in court dress (black or grey flanel trousers, white wing-neck collared shirt and tabs (the funny "neckwear" you mentioned), waistcoat and robes.

Lawyers' (in Canada we are both barristers and solicitors) wear depends on the nature of the appearance. For minor preliminary matters it's business attire. For more formal prelims and for ALL trials, we dress exactly as the judge does - NEVER business attire under the robes!

We do not have the wigs (sadly) and if memory serves wigs are worn (by barristers at least) in court only for criminal trials in England and Wales now.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

This what I usually wear when my presence is required at Court

I am the guy 3rd from the left with the cool hat..

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I know here in Houston they only require you to wear long pants, no flip-flops and no tank tops.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Attorneys here wear suits in court. Judges wear robes. Jurors wear whatever they want, but I've seen judges send jurors home to redress if the juror was wearing something that threatened to disrupt court.

AF

 

[avedwards]

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.

I know most of the don't want to be there but they are paid expenses and some money for loss of income. I don't expect them to dress to impress, just to dress to a certain minimum which is somewhere around casual smart, not slobwear. At least the dress of the judges and barristers made me not stick out too much in my black pinstripe three piece suit.

 

[reetpleat]

I think the whole robes and wigs thing is strange and bizarre. Court is serious business. Why muck it up with weird costume that dates back to another time. It is like going to a theme park or something.

i suppose the Supreme court may have a certain bearing in robes, but even that is debatable. Why not suits?

 

[avedwards]

I think the whole robes and wigs thing is strange and bizarre. Court is serious business. Why muck it up with weird costume that dates back to another time. It is like going to a theme park or something.

i suppose the Supreme court may have a certain bearing in robes, but even that is debatable. Why not suits?

The speaker in parliament thought similarly when he decided to abolish the wig and just wear a plain black robe over a business suit. I personally think it's not too bad as I do think it's hard to take someone in a wig seriously. What I definitely think is wrong thought is wearing wigs which fit like hats.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

The "uniform" of the day is usually suit and tie. While I appreciate that juror participants do not want to attend, it is one's civic duty. Ideally, a reasonable outfit will be worn.

As a rule when in Court or seeing clients dress well ie french cuffs R.Talbott tie, spit shined shoes. I am there to win; part of the package is how I dress.

I was at a deposition recently where I was the only one dressed in the aforementioned while the other attys wore cheesy shirt slacks and no tie.

Later in the week they wore sports jacket and one of those clip on ties to the settlement conference...lol lol lol

When I taught law ... it was a suit due to the subject matter. However, if I was teaching Civil Rights I would have dressed more casually.

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

I know most of the don't want to be there but they are paid expenses and some money for loss of income. I don't expect them to dress to impress, just to dress to a certain minimum which is somewhere around casual smart, not slobwear. At least the dress of the judges and barristers made me not stick out too much in my black pinstripe three piece suit.

But why? Why does it matter? During a rape trial, I would probably choose to be as comfortable as possible, given the rather intense and disturbing nature of the subject matter. A colleague of mine was involved in a big trial at the Old Bailey, for almost a year, and she chose to dress in a very different way to her usual, bright and colourful style, because there were some serious East End gangsters in the dock, and she didn't want to stand out in any way! And a close friend of mine was on the Ben Kinsella trial, and she did the same, for the same reasons - it doesn't do to be noticed by a gang! They both dressed *down* considerably for their jury duty.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

But why? Why does it matter? During a rape trial, I would probably choose to be as comfortable as possible, given the rather intense and disturbing nature of the subject matter. A colleague of mine was involved in a big trial at the Old Bailey, for almost a year, and she chose to dress in a very different way to her usual, bright and colourful style, because there were some serious East End gangsters in the dock, and she didn't want to stand out in any way! And a close friend of mine was on the Ben Kinsella trial, and she did the same, for the same reasons - it doesn't do to be noticed by a gang! They both dressed *down* considerably for their jury duty.

Fleur if they're gonna get you it ain't because you dressed nice...lol lol

 

[blade runner]

As a lawyer, I wear suits to work. When I have to go to court I leave my hats at home -- they are not welcome in the courtroom. My own personal fashion quirk, which is decidedly not vintage, is to wear ties with animals on them, usually Endangered Species or World Wildlife Fund brands. As with vintage clothing, it sometimes gets odd looks, but I am pretty sure I get more compliments on my ties than anyone else in my profession.

As for jurors, I expect to see them dressed as they would be in their ordinary life, largely because that is what they typically do. Frankly, if I saw a juror dressed in a suit and he or she was not a lawyer, banker or similar business person, I would probably have some extra questions for them and take that into account in deciding whether to keep them on the jury.

 

[Viola]

I would not wear a suit as a juror. I would wear something pleasant and casual. Cotton skirt maybe, just because I like skirts, but not because I think slacks (or even nice dark jeans) would look odd. I wouldn't wear a t-shirt with writing on it but then I don't OWN t-shirts with writing on them.

I would only wear full-on vintage-wear down to the gloves and hat if I wanted to be dismissed from jury duty.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Remember this woman?

Juror wears Star Trek Uniform

 

[Torpedo]

Hi, this is an interesting discussion.

Here in Spain, court members all wear black robes over bussiness suits. Non-court participants, like witnesses or jurors, dress as they like, usually casually, although they will not normally be allowed bermudas, flipflops and similar. At least they will be admonished.

Now from my perspective as a police officer. I always wear at least jacket and tie when attending as a wittness. If attending as an expert wittness (which I do frequently as I am a crime scene specialist) then it will be a suit, and tie or bowtie. I must say this is my personal preference, and it is far, far from the norm. My colleagues, overwhelmingly, wear casual clothing, all the way from a minimally dressy appearance with button down shirts, or polos, slacks and shoes, to really casual with t-shirts, jeans and trainers.

This very much reflects the casual code we have at work, which is very casual too (it is not really that we have a code, it is an informal code). Some make a difference, dressing up, if attending as expert wittnesses, some do not. Although in training courses, etc, we are recommended to dress up for court, this is not really enforced.

Here I must mention that some colleagues have expressed their opinion that I overdress, even saying something to the effect that I "should have warned them in advance" that I planned to appear in court "so dressed up", presumably because they feel uncomfortable (this a little odd, because I keep similar, although a little toned down, personal dress standards when at work -which is overdressed compared to the casual code mentioned, but that I feel appropriate for a professional- so it should come as no surprise to them that I would care about my appearance at court).

(Note: if you are assigned to an uniformed unit, and you have a court attendance during your work shift, you attend in uniform. If you are in a plainclothes unit -like in my case-, you attend in plainclothes. Independently of the kind of unit you are assigned to, if the attendance is outside of your work shift, you go in plainclothes).

(Another note: some colleagues of mine argue that they are not supplied with dressier clothes, nor have money allowances granted for that purpose, hence do not feel obliged to acquire such garments. It is true that it was only last year that plainclothes units began to receive a money allowance to spend on clothes - before that, you got nothing, except if you were in a escort, IA or such kind of unit, when you would got a suit. Outside of this, you wore your own clothes to work, with no allowances for buying, cleaning or repairing them).

Regards!

 

[Harp]

How do people dress in courts in the US?

The trial judge wears a robe. Lawyers as a rule are well dressed.

Potential jurors whom are inappropriately attired can be dismissed
through judicial challenge prior to trial. Most juries dress casual
for personal comfort, though reasonably well for court.

 

[Lily Powers]

West Coast Criminal Court: The People vs. Fashion

Judges: They wear robes and for all anyone knows, they could be wearing onesie jammies underneath.

Defense Attorneys: I've seen many defense attorneys - both private and Public Defenders - looking rumpled in ill fitting suits or clothing in need or ironing. Short-sleeved shirts are not uncommon. The female defenders seem to have the Ally McBeal syndrome (a character in a US television show about a law office, that aired about 8 years ago) of short skirts and jacket... kind of like they are play-acting the part of "lawyer" in a high school play.

Prosecutors: The prosecutors are all under the District Attorney and as such, the office has a standard for appearance. Always suits and ties for the men, jackets kept on in trial; the women also wear suits (pants or skirt) or dresses with jackets. Hosiery is the norm, bare legs are frowned upon.

Jurors: They pretty much wear what's comfortable for them to sit in for hours.

Police Officers: The newer cops usually dress very well in a suit and tie. In fact, in Criminal Justice classes, instructors go over how to dress and respond in court when cops are called as witnesses. Some of the men who have been cops for a lot of years, but who are detectives or undercover and not uniformed cops, wear a suit and tie, but it's likely the same suit and tie they wore in their first court appearance 15 or more years ago.

Spectators: Well, the courts are public, so we get every type of person you can think of. Homeless people come in now and then in raggedy clothes, students in jeans and shorts... offensive tees, obvious gang apparel, too much skin and hats are not allowed.