JDs Rising

By Brett Clark

About a year ago, I was in line at security in the Hennepin County Government Center.  Standing in front of me was a man in his twenties wearing a belt lined with fake metal bullets.  Incredibly, his lawyer was right there with him.  I tried to imagine this person attempting to tell his story to a judge or a jury with that thing around his waist.  Fortunately for him, the belt set off the metal detector and security wouldn’t allow him to wear it into the courthouse.

Credibility is paramount in any trial and a client or witness’s appearance plays a considerable role.  If your clients’ outfits can’t get through security, then that’s a sign that you might need to work on counseling them on appropriate courtroom attire.

Here are four things to keep in mind when advising clients and witnesses on how to appear in court:

1.  Do not be afraid to tell your witness what to wear. Many lawyers, particularly younger lawyers, would never feel comfortable telling a witness how he or she should dress.  Don’t be shy about it.  How a person dresses has a considerable impact upon how a factfinder will view his or her testimony.  As long as you’re respectful about it, you should not need to worry that you might offend the person whose testimony you are depending upon.  Remember that you are the expert in this arena.  Even if the witness is old enough to be your grandfather, you’re the one with the license.

Keeping your witness looking professional is not the only reason to be upfront about what to wear.  It’s easy for attorneys to forget, but walking into a courtroom to be examined by an opposing attorney generally makes people nervous.  They worry about saying the wrong thing, whether they will remember everything they need to, and even whether they are dressed appropriately.  Giving your witness advice on appropriate attire gives him or her one less thing to worry about.

2.  Consider how you and your adversary will portray your witness. What constitutes “appropriate attire” is not the same for everyone.  You need to consider what it is you’re trying to say about your witness.  For example, some might remember that throughout the trial of the Menendez brothers in the early 1990s, both brothers spent almost the entirety of the trial dressed in button-down shirts and cable-knit sweaters, not suits and ties.  Why?  To mitigate the image of two rich, spoiled bluebloods who murdered their parents for money.  Sweaters made them look modest and non-threatening.  If showing up in court wearing an expensive suit will feed into your adversary’s narrative, then advise your client to wear something else.

3.  Recommend comfortable clothing. Clothing affects the appearance of a witness in other ways as well.  The last thing you want is an uncomfortable witness shifting, scratching and fidgeting on the stand.  His or her body language might give the impression that the witness is not being truthful.

4.  Be weary of fashion advice from lawyers. Yes, I’m saying this even as I give fashion advice.  The problem is that we’re not fashion experts and we don’t live in the same world as those who comprise your jury pool.  What we find credible can be off-putting to others.  So despite my first point, take your first impressions and those of other attorneys with a grain of salt.   That Vikings tie might actually play well with a Minnesota jury.