A colleague yesterday drew my attention to the female barrister striding past the Supreme Court, wigged and gowned, in her mini skirt, stilettos and leggings. We can both recall the days when another of our colleagues was asked to leave the court because she was wearing brightly coloured spotted tights and we both wondered whether now days leggings would cause any issue.
The question of attire came up again last night when watching the wonderful "Boston Legal" with Alan appearing before the US Supreme Court complete with electronic tie that flashed red when his speaking time was up. Unfortunately, it malfunctioned and drew the ire of the Chief Justice.
Yet again the question comes up, this time in an article from the American Bar Association Journal, which reports that a conference of judges discussed female lawyer's attire in court, with one judge stating
Some women come to court wearing "skirts so short that there's no way they can sit down and blouses so short there's no way the judges wouldn't look"
I have other colleagues, both male and female, who refer to this attire as a "Master Blaster" outfit - very descriptive of the attire adopted by Melbourne lawyer Zara Garde-Wilson, (see here and here for examples).
One would hope that the decision making capacity of the judiciary would not be impacted in any way by the dress sense of those appearing before them, but the reality is that, even on a subconscious level, appearances count. I'd prefer my lawyer dressed in the traditional dark suit, lending that air of credibility!
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