Here’s a question for you: what message are you trying to send?
IT REALLY IS that simple.
There is no specific dress code for court. You don’t have to dress in a particular way. But there are some things that you can learn.
"if you watch judges in this moment, you’ll see that they’re
looking at you as your lawyer speaks.
As they’re explaining all your positive attributes,
the judge is scanning you to see
whether they believe this or not".
Unless you have nothing else in your wardrobe, do not wear casual clothing to court. That means -and this is directed at men more than women- no t-shirts, tracksuits, trainers.
Judges take their jobs very seriously. They believe that what goes on in their workplace -the courtroom- is a serious business. It is an elite place for settling disputes and handing down punishments in society. It should be respected.
Its also a hallowed place. Courts have been in existence for hundreds of years.
Dozens of books have been written about them. Quite a few movies have been made about them. It is a serious place
No one disagrees with this.
____________
WHETHER YOU LIKE IT or not, how you dress sends a signal about you.
Specifically, about who you are.
If you arrive for a job interview in casual clothes people will form a view of you even before you open your mouth.
Think about that.
"How could someone this well dressed
commit an act like that?
He was the best dressed prisoner
in Mountjoy Prison later that evening"
When it comes to court you should be aiming to achieve two things:
Show respect to the court and give the impression that you are taking the case seriously.
These are basically the messages that you should be trying to convey.
It’s easier to convey these messages when you dress formally.
Women almost always know how to dress formally. Men are a different story.
My advice for men is to wear a suit, if you have one. Most men do so put it on.
And a suit means a suit with a shirt and tie. All three together. If you don’t have a suit, borrow one. Failing that dress as smartly as you can.
But just because you dress formally doesn’t mean you’ll be treated vastly different to someone who does not.
You won’t.
___________________
I SPOKE TO A FRIEND of mine once who is a judge. A young man appeared before them dressed impeccably in a suit. He had been charged with aggravated burglary. The difference between burglary and aggravated burglary is the presence of a weapon.
This impeccably dressed young man had broken into an elderly lady’s home while armed. The judge admitted to me that they were shocked. How could someone this well dressed commit an act like that?
He was the best dressed prisoner in Mountjoy Prison later that evening.
Quite right too.
But these are exceptional cases. Individuals like this are committed criminals. People who dabble in minor criminality rarely take the huge step of breaking into someone’s home with a weapon. There have been plenty of other serious criminal events that led up to that.
Not even a suit from Saville Row’s finest tailor could save them.
JUDGES HAVE WIDE discretion when it comes to passing sentence. In some cases though, their hands are tied. Drink driving is one. If they find you guilty, they must disqualify you.
But in many other cases they have “freedom of action” as diplomats call it.
Even if they decide to find the case proven against you, they may decide not to convict you.
They’ll often ask your lawyer to tell them something about you.
And if you watch judges in this moment, you’ll see that they’re looking at you as your lawyer speaks. As they’re explaining all your positive attributes, the judge is scanning you to see whether they believe this or not.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t believe your lawyer, but judges are human, and we humans like to form our own conclusions about people, regardless of what others say.
As they scan you, what would you like them to think about you?
Now, think about that before you dress for court.
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