Court Attire- do you dress up?

[dakcp2001]

Went to fight a traffic ticket this morning and let me tell you, what an interesting place to people watch. I was always taught that you dress with respect for certain places, and court being one of them. This apparently is not the case anymore.

This is what I saw:

Young girl in a sparkle tube top, tight mini skirt, black shiny stilettos- veery cute for a club, court at 8am, nope.

Several women with lots of cleavage hanging out, booty shorts (daisy dukes)

Lots of people in dirty clothes who clearly had not showered.

One man was shirtless, he was asked to leave.

Lots of flip flops etc.

Clearly I was in the minority being dressed up, out of hundreds of people I would say less than 25% seemed dressed appropriately.

What do you wear? And for the record, I did not see a single person win no matter how they were dressed. I did however get my fine cut in half, most people did not. I had a u turn fine. I don't know if the judge even noticed the attire.

 

[Andtototoo]

My dd videotapes the municipal court for our city. She would tell you that all things being equal, it's to your benefit to:

1. Dress properly
2. Be respectful
3. Never make excuses
4. Never ever argue with the judge (Yes, people are this stupid and/or entitled)
5. Never complain about your inability to pay something like a DUI fine or speeding ticket due to lack of employment or other problems (the judge will say, "If you don't have the money, why were you out drinking/engaging in behaviors that could cost money?")

 

[java]

I had to go to court over a DOG LICENSE!! I dressed up a bit - cardigan sweater and put on jewelry. I smiled and was respectful.

My case was dismissed.

Maybe booty shorts girl was just getting in from last night.

 

[Poohforyou]

I was in our local night court a few weeks ago because of a parking ticket. I stayed in my work clothes so I was dressed appropriately in slacks, low heels and a cardigan. I actually saw most people were dressed nicely. The exception were probably younger college age kids who were in shorts or jeans.

 

[dakcp2001]

My dd videotapes the municipal court for our city. She would tell you that all things being equal, it's to your benefit to:

1. Dress properly
2. Be respectful
3. Never make excuses
4. Never ever argue with the judge (Yes, people are this stupid and/or entitled)
5. Never complain about your inability to pay something like a DUI fine or speeding ticket due to lack of employment or other problems (the judge will say, "If you don't have the money, why were you out drinking/engaging in behaviors that could cost money?")

There were a lot of people arguing with the judge. There were also quite a few that did not come prepared, like fine for illegal tint, but came in the tinted car that day. People with no proof of insurance (in MAY) still didnt have it today. Someone arguing about getting the bond back, but the kid she posted bond on failed to appear this am.

And when someones cell phone rang the judge freaked out. They had said a million times no phones on, not ok to be on silent, phones off period.

 

[jen0610]

There were a lot of people arguing with the judge. There were also quite a few that did not come prepared, like fine for illegal tint, but came in the tinted car that day. People with no proof of insurance (in MAY) still didnt have it today. Someone arguing about getting the bond back, but the kid she posted bond on failed to appear this am.

And when someones cell phone rang the judge freaked out. They had said a million times no phones on, not ok to be on silent, phones off period.

They don't allow cell phones in the court house or the city/county building any more around here. You have to leave them in your car.

The last time I had to be down at the city/county building, where several of the court rooms are at, the worst dressed person I remember was the lady dressed in stained, ripped, baggy orange and yellow plaid lounge pants, with a stained hot pink tank top over a white "wife beater" type undershirt that had stains as well. On her feet, she had on what should have been white and black - think dalmation fur - fuzzy house slippers. But, they were so filthy, the white was more a tanish color. She had her hair up in curlers, with the hair netting you put over to hold the curlers in place while you sleep. She was holding a baby - maybe 1ish - that had on mismatched socks, a very full diaper (aka no pants), and a ripped and stained t-shrt. The poor baby looked awful, had so much snot coming out it's nose and they were swipping at it, covering their face with it. Goopy, wet eye junk almost sealing their eyes shut, sucking on the dirtiest bottle I have ever seen. And not really sure what was in the bottle, because the liquid was brown in color. I hoped that it was grape juice, but I would still bet money it was cola.

This was almost 5 years ago and I can still vividly see them standing there. She was a yelling at the young kid she was with - all I can remember about him was he was dressed in jean and a jersey type shirt. I was just so shocked by her, I couldn't look anywhere else but her and the poor baby.

 

[Gigi22]

I had to go to court to testify against the 3 jerks who stole my car. DH came with me for moral support. I guess things are a bit different here in Canada--it took a long time to get to our case, so I had lots of time to try to figure out which people were accused of a crime. Generally speaking most of the accused were younger men who were all wearing either suits, or dress slacks and long sleeved shirts--clearly their Legal Aid lawyers had instructed them how to dress for court. When the accused in our case found out that I was in court to testify against them, they all magically changed their pleas from Not Guilty to Guilty, so I never had to testify.
It was certainly an eye-opening experience.

 

[hereyago]

The last time I had to be down at the city/county building, where several of the court rooms are at, the worst dressed person I remember was the lady dressed in stained, ripped, baggy orange and yellow plaid lounge pants, with a stained hot pink tank top over a white "wife beater" type undershirt that had stains as well. On her feet, she had on what should have been white and black - think dalmation fur - fuzzy house slippers. But, they were so filthy, the white was more a tanish color. She had her hair up in curlers, with the hair netting you put over to hold the curlers in place while you sleep. She was holding a baby - maybe 1ish - that had on mismatched socks, a very full diaper (aka no pants), and a ripped and stained t-shrt. The poor baby looked awful, had so much snot coming out it's nose and they were swipping at it, covering their face with it. Goopy, wet eye junk almost sealing their eyes shut, sucking on the dirtiest bottle I have ever seen. And not really sure what was in the bottle, because the liquid was brown in color. I hoped that it was grape juice, but I would still bet money it was cola.

This was almost 5 years ago and I can still vividly see them standing there. She was a yelling at the young kid she was with - all I can remember about him was he was dressed in jean and a jersey type shirt. I was just so shocked by her, I couldn't look anywhere else but her and the poor baby.

Holy Moly!!!!!!!!! I hope she was just there for moral support and not say: going before a judge to obtain custody-don't think that would go over well.


Yes, I do dress up for court. my first court appearance was when I was 16 and picking up my driver's license. we had to go before the judge who would give us a speech-which I still remember this day because he scared the jeepers out of me and then you could get your license. no one came in with jeans or any of that and I think if they tried they would get thrown out. this judge didn't play.

To get legal custody of dd when the ex left, yes I did dress up then. And even going to meet the mediator, I didn't dress "down".

 

[Northstar]

I guess I'm on a different planet today, but when I read the thread title, I was thinking, "well, yeah, if I'm going to have an audience with the Queen, I'm going to dress up."

Too much viewing of The Tudors, or maybe of William and Kate's wedding pics.

 

[jen0610]

Forgot to also add, years ago when I worked for a lawyer, we had one guy in the building that did lots of bankruptcies. He always told his clients, that when they had to go infront of the judge. Do not ever show up wearing nice clothing or shoes. No watches, rings, braclets, necklaces, or ear rings. And women, were not even to wear their wedding set if theren't very simple - small, just a chip of a diamond.

 

[DizBelle]

Don't you know? The DIS-opinion is that it doesn't matter what you wear for any occasion. Wearing a thong and pasties to a funeral is just fine.

 

[Greenepona]

the 2 times I have been to court I dressed differently, and not by choice.

parking ticket - Dressed very nice (business clothes) - ticket dismissed

Philadelphia Livestop - wasn't dressed nice. Jeans and t shirt (I didn't have a choice. I got pulled over, vehicle impounded at 1145PM, I was a long way from home. Went to court at 8am to fight to get my car back.) - Fined $275 to get car out, plus had to pay another $400 to Parking authority for towing storage and the Livestop violation.

I have no idea if my attire had any effect on either judgement, but please please, If you drive through Philadelphia county in PA make sure you have all documentation on you at all times - license, insurance and registration. otherwise your car will get impounded on the spot.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Don't you know? The DIS-opinion is that it doesn't matter what you wear for any occasion. Wearing a thong and pasties to a funeral is just fine.

I missed that thread. I miss all of the interesting stuff.

 

[hereyago]

the 2 times I have been to court I dressed differently, and not by choice.

parking ticket - Dressed very nice (business clothes) - ticket dismissed

Philadelphia Livestop - wasn't dressed nice. Jeans and t shirt (I didn't have a choice. I got pulled over, vehicle impounded at 1145PM, I was a long way from home. Went to court at 8am to fight to get my car back.) - Fined $275 to get car out, plus had to pay another $400 to Parking authority for towing storage and the Livestop violation.

I have no idea if my attire had any effect on either judgement, but please please, If you drive through Philadelphia county in PA make sure you have all documentation on you at all times - license, insurance and registration. otherwise your car will get impounded on the spot.

Dang, I watch Parking Wars and watching this alone I don't think I will ever drive if I go to Philly.

 

[deegack]

When I practiced law I use to tell clients to dress like they would if they went to church on Easter Sunday and for specific with no jeans, no holes, dresses or skirts to the knee, no flashy jewelry etc. I still kept some basic sweaters in my car in case someone showed up a mess

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

You should dress up-YES. Sadly, people don't even dress up for church anymore.

 

[onelilspark]

I have not had to go to court yet (I'm sure at some point in my life I will.) But I wouldn't dream of showing up in anything less than business casual. I wear suits to client meetings, so I would most likely wear a suit.

It would not even cross my mind to dress anything but like a responsible adult.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I can only recall being in court once and I did dress up. This was in high school as someone was fighting their ticket for causing an accident.

I would presume that if I wanted the judge to have a fighting chance at believing "my" version of events, dressing nicely is a given.

The ticket ended up being dismissed--which is not what my side expected. However, she had a good attorney and we could not definitively say who "started" the maneuver. (they did the same maneuver and one ran the other off the road by accident) Plus, I mixed up cars and that made my testimony sound confusing. It didn't help that both cars were sporty AND similar colors.

 

[bonoriffic]

I work next to the building that does traffic court. The subway is in this building and an underground tunnel connects my building with this one, so when it rains I go to the food court there. The cast of characters that are eating lunch there is always worth the heart burn. In large cities, your best chance of beating the case isn't in how you dress, but what the district attorney has to do that day. My cousin was a district attorney, with traffic and child services being your first jobs. If my cousin had new carpet coming that afternoon, it was make a deal day and your case never saw the inside of court.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

The last two times I went to court, I wore shorts and a tee shirt. I pay their wages. I will dress as I please when I go to jury duty.

I have only been to court once for something other than jury duty. I was in the Army at the time, so I went in uniform (required by the Army).