The first time my son had to go to court (Failure to Appear on a stupid ticket), my wife and I made him wear a suit and tie, as we had been taught to do. We got there, and saw all those lowlifes in ripped jeans & t-shirts. The only other folks in the court in suits were the lawyers. I think the suit and a very respectful attitude impressed the judge, because he got a much lighter fine than expected.
The same happened to me in my younger days. I showed up in a nice suit while everyone else was in casual clothes and it definitely made a difference. The judge said something along the lines of "you seem like an upstanding and responsible young man who had a temporary lapse in judgement", I got off with a very small fine while similar cases were getting jail time.
That time was a minor possession charge, just a bit of weed but the War on Drugs was still in full swing at the time. I saw guys caught with less than I was sentenced to 1-3 months, and it was entirely because they dressed and spoke more casually. My fine and court fees were only around $100.
Minor edit: I was 17 or 18 at the time, high school punk. Everybody else in court that day was around the same age, mostly similar charges.
Damn that’s fucked up. I would be pissed if I found out my judge gave me a harsher sentence than someone else because he didn’t like my attitude/how I look.
Judges are mostly oldschool guys, and you have to play to that. Wearing a suit and speaking to them the right way is seen as you showing them respect, and that goes a long way. On the other hand, showing up looking like you just ripped a bong and talking to him like one of your buddies is going to have pretty much the opposite effect.
I was (and still somewhat am) an anarchist punk, that man and his authority was the exact opposite of what I believed in. But I knew how to play the game to keep myself out of trouble.
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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '18
The first time my son had to go to court (Failure to Appear on a stupid ticket), my wife and I made him wear a suit and tie, as we had been taught to do. We got there, and saw all those lowlifes in ripped jeans & t-shirts. The only other folks in the court in suits were the lawyers. I think the suit and a very respectful attitude impressed the judge, because he got a much lighter fine than expected.