14 August 2003




Found thru The Legal Reader:

An attorney has been turned away from the federal penetentiary numerous times because she wears clothes that are too provocative. The article describes her latest outfit as an almost knee length dress which buttons up the middle. Since that's a little vague and I'm not an expert on women's fashions, I'm not sure how close we are to Ally McBeal here. However, I disagree with the assertion that dress codes, searches, etc. should be different for attorneys than regular visitors1.

From the prison's spokesperson:
"If you came and observed some of the women who come through here ... ," she added, her voice trailing off, "I don't even have to say anything. Sometimes I say to myself, 'Oh, my God, that woman, can she breath?' "
Been there, seen that. Visitation time at a jail is an amazing thing. Women show up dressed in some of the most revealing clothes you've ever seen (outside Victoria's Secret). Most jails seem to deal with this by having a female guard at the front desk sending them away if they don't make the dress code (and it's amazing how many of them actually have a change of clothes out in the car when they are rejected). The smarter visitors show up in clothes which comply with the dress code but are skin tight and they seem to get away with that more often. Being the evil, male chauvinist pig that I am, I haven't noticed if there are similar trends among male visitors.



1 Yes, I know they are all annoying but I'm sure those of us who practice day-in-and -day-out have all heard tales from our clients about how an attorney is breaking the rules for the client's cellmate because they are romantically involved.

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