How An Accused Should Dress For Court To Make A Positive Impression
There isn’t any specific answer and there certainly isn’t any legal requirement that you dress in a particular way. The question is what kind of impression do you want to make when you’re in that courtroom. The very fact a client has asked that question is usually a positive indication for us because that means the client is thinking about what impression they’re going to make on the judge or the jury.
Some clients unfortunately create a very poor impression right away and it never occurs to them that the way they dress is something that matters. This is particularly true with young people who are involved in the justice system and, perhaps, aren’t as used to dressing up formally or being in situations that are as formal as a courtroom. We remind our clients that a courtroom is very much a formal setting. Set-date court, which they may have experienced, is a very different atmosphere. There you’ll see a population that by and large is relatively disrespectful in their dress to the court and the tone of the court is very lackadaisical, laid back, and casual.
That’s not what your judge wants to see. And if the impression that you want to leave with the judge is of somebody who takes this process seriously, then you need to dress accordingly. You can never go wrong with a suit and tie or its equivalent for a woman. But at the very least, you should choose what people term to be “business casual.” You should not be showing up in ripped jeans or work clothes or anything that is too revealing. Always have in mind that your bearing, your comportment, and your behavior should be in line with a situation that is serious, formal, and something that you respect.
Even if you don’t have a suit, a pair of tailored cotton pants and a button-down shirt, as opposed to a T-shirt with a logo on it and a pair of ripped jeans, will be infinitely more appropriate and will demonstrate immediately to the judge that you take this seriously. If you are seen to take the process seriously, it will reflect positively on you. The worst thing you can do is give the judge the impression that this is not a big deal to you. If this is the impression you convey, you may find that the Judge or jury think it’s not too big a deal to toss a verdict your way that you don’t want to hear. The judge is there to listen and give you the benefit of the doubt; that’s his or her job. You need to do your best to earn some of that ‘reasonable doubt’.
Credibility is in play in every single trial, and though we don’t want to believe that people make decisions about credibility based on how someone looks, the reality is that the judges and jury members are human just like anybody else. I would much rather have a first impression from a judge that is favorable than make a judge have to remind him or herself to look only at the facts , even though this client showed up in shorts and a tank top and even though his or her conduct on the stand appears to be rude or flippant. Why add a barrier to communication and a barrier to your credibility when, from the start, you can appear well-dressed, and well-spoken? You don’t want to distract the judge when he or she has to figure out whether you are a person who ought to be believed.
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If you, or someone you care about, is dealing with criminal law issues in the Toronto,Ontario Region, contact Adler Bytensky Prutschi for a consultation.
