Probably not guilty.
Posted on 06/13/2010 10:30:06 AM PDT by NCjim
Attorney Brittney Horstman was not packing heat.
She was wearing an underwire bra.
And when the metal detector went off on a visit to the Miami Federal Detention Center, security guards wouldn't let Horstman in to see her client.
The attorney reminded guards of a detention center ``memo'' allowing female attorneys wearing an underwire bra to enter. But the guards would not relent.
Horstman stepped into a bathroom and removed her bra. In blouse and jacket, she returned, and cleared the walk-through detector.
Again, guards refused to let her pass -- now, because she was braless, which is against prison dress code guidelines.
``So, simply because I was a woman who wore a specific bra, my client was denied access to his attorney today,'' Horstman e-mailed a group of fellow lawyers on June 4. ``This is completely unacceptable.''
``You are a true defense attorney taking your bra off to try to see your client in jail!'' Horstman's colleague, attorney Carmen Vizcaino, said in an e-mail. ``Betcha none of the guys have done that for their clients.''
This is not the first time guards at the downtown Miami inmate facility have taken exception to the undergarments of female attorneys coming in to see their clients.
A few years ago, the Federal Public Defender's Office, which represents inmates held at FDC-Miami before trial, hammered out an arrangement with the prison allowing female lawyers entry if guards determine -- by using a wand -- that their underwire bras are setting off the detector. Once it's confirmed, the woman can enter.
FDC-Miami officials declined to comment. People familiar with the procedure say the guards on duty that Friday probably didn't get the ``memo.''
A spokeswoman referred a reporter to its dress code posted on the prison facility's Web page. The policy requires that women wear bras, but doesn't specifically prohibit underwire styles.
But the FDC's dress code, which stresses ``appropriate attire,'' has a laundry list of restrictions. Women, for example, cannot wear sweat pants, sweat shirts, sun dresses, leotards, wraparound skirts, crop tops, low cut blouses, zippered dresses/shirts, button-down dresses/skirts or low-cut dresses.
They also cannot wear ``any type of garment that is see-through . . . or clothing that is tight and sexually suggestive or revealing.''
As for both women and men, the FDC prohibits ``any clothing similar to that issued to staff or inmates: khaki, orange, green military fatigue, and plain white T-shirts.''
The Horstman incident was worked out after the Federal Public Defender's Office contacted Warden Linda McGrew.
``The incident, while regrettable and unfortunate, appears to be an aberration,'' said Michael Caruso, the public defender's chief assistant.
The warden ``conducted her own inquiry, she resolved the situation to our satisfaction and she said it won't happen again,'' he said.
Horstman, a former lawyer in the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office who is now in private practice, declined to comment.
She noted in her e-mail to colleagues that she had been allowed into the FDC with an underwire bra in the past -- but not on June 4.
At least one other woman, former Miami federal prosecutor Lilly Ann Sanchez, said she also had trouble getting into the FDC to see clients a few years ago.
Female attorneys always thought the FDC's anti-underwire bra policy was ``discriminatory,'' and were relieved when the Federal Public Defender's Office and the prison worked out an agreement, she said.
``I had several instances where I was wearing an underwire bra and they wouldn't let me in,'' said Sanchez, who now practices criminal defense law.
``One time, I went into the bathroom and took it off so I could clear the metal detectors.''
Pictures?
It’s better to be strangled with your bra than not wear one. Makes me wonder if they’ll do a panty check next.
Let’s see some PICS here. Otherwise, how can we evaluate the story?
Probably not guilty.
If she’s wearing a jacket over her blouse, who can tell if she’s wearing a bra or not?
You mean how can we determine guilt?
“Betcha none of the guys have done that for their clients.”
Just how many cross-dressing attorneys do they have in that town?
Guilty!
Yes Before and after pictures.
Satisfied?
Here she is...a hung jury perhaps?
Nothin’ in ‘em! ;-)
Tempest in a teapot. If you know the rules, wear a different bra or remove the wires before you get to checkpoint.
Why is everything a federal case?
You BETCHA! To see if the concerns were WARRANTED! LOL.
May I remind you that this is Miami, we are discussing.
I wonder if the staff at the Miami Federal Detention Center have ever heard of this little thing called the Sixth Amendment...
I’m assuming she received a spider bite in her upper arm?
What else could make it as out-of-proportion with her forearm as Michelle “I Marred a Commie” Obammie?
Some bored cop having a little fun to make his day. Needs to have a little time off to reflect on his Wyatt Earp attitude.
What the guards did was against the law then and they should be prosecuted, doubt it will happen though.
The thing is the bra she was wearing was legal. She did KNOW the rules, the guards didn't know them, however. Reading the whole article is recommended for people who want to make intelligent comments about them.
I’m pretty sure you have to take off your jacket.
My reading of the story is that the formal, published rules allow underwire bras.
Well, for one thing, her bra was evidently not against the rules. For another, interfering with her access to her client violates her client’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Had that inmate been interrogated and provided a confession during this time, that confession would have been inadmissible in court.
I would imagine the local US Attorney might have some words with the warden. Having criminals go free because of some Barney Fife prison guards would not be a good thing.
I don’t know. A wire in a federal pen would possibly be a weapon and as a female lawyer myself, I think it’s a reasonable restriction. I have a drawer full of bras and none of them are wired. Its not necessary to one’s wardrobe. Seems to me to be a typical case of men being afraid to offend women. I’m personally tired of whiney women.
Well, I don’t think the guards committed any crimes to be prosecuted for. Their supervisors might want to talk to them, though.
It said, “In blouse and jacket, she returned, and cleared the walk-through detector.”
I think the jailers were just being a$$e$
Not bad. She has to lose the tie.
Ah but you assuming some of these posters are capable of reading the article- and-capable of making an intelligent comment. On the positive side it is easy to separate them from those that can and do contribute something worthwhile to the discussion.
“Probably not guilty.”
This is a tough case. We are usually not called upon to render judgment on attorneys, instead it’s usually their clients. And typically, all we get are mug shots. But even in some of those mug shots, proof of innocence is obvious.
In this case, we have her best photo and still cannot make a clear decision - so, for that reason, I pronounce judgment as: GUILTY, as charged.
I agree that a prohibition on underwire bras are a reasonable restriction, but evidently they were not actually prohibited at the prison.
Regardless, they absolutely should have let her in after she removed the bra. Allowing this minor (and harmless) violation of the prison dress code would seem to be a reasonable accommodation make to her client’s right to counsel.
You’re the one with the reading problem, not to mention your needless incivility. The guard was supposed to establish that the detector was set off by a bra underwire. If he can’t, he has to do something about it. That is a rule.
Or do you think he was just harassing the poor damsel?
That’s a rhetorical question. I don’t care what people like you think.
But I suppose I deserved to be nipped for posting on a thread about underwire bras.
Petty is as petty does.
A few years ago, the Federal Public Defender's Office ... hammered out an arrangement with the prison allowing female lawyers entry if guards determine -- by using a wand -- that their underwire bras are setting off the detector. Once it's confirmed, the woman can enter.
The bra was OK, but not your preference. Doesn't hassling an attorney rankle you?
The rules allow underwire bras. The guards were supposed to pass her.
Nice one...HA!
Well the article sounded like they had a policy for that type of bra as long as the guard could isolate it with the wand. If they had a policy and the guards did not adhere to it then they prevented the attorney from having counsel with the client, that’s the way I saw it anyway.
Time off he might enjoy. Just gig his record so he is less eligible for promotion and easier to fire.
AT LAST ! ! Now, we know where people rejected by the fast food industry find employment.
Dude, what a scam to get a woman to take her clothes off!!!
“Doesn’t hassling an attorney rankle you?”
Totally not rankled about this. I think its amusing. The security guards at jails and courthouses keep me safe and even if they were messing with her, they deserve my respect. I’ve been at our courthouse twice now when there were shootings and I say a prayer every time I go through security for the men and women who guard me.
I don’t do criminal defense so really don’t have any experience with going in and out of jails. But then, that’s probably one of the reasons that I don’t do criminal defense.
You mean you have never seen an underwire bra before. Alright, here is the picture you asked for.
You beat me to it. He said he wanted pictures.
Can’t win for losing. I can certainly understand though — guys in jail should not see a braless female.
My question is...who was safeguarding the bra while she went in?
Were there any unsavory, unwholesome actions taken with said bra while the bra was in someone else’s custody?
...sniffing, caressing, photo taking, or possibly more serious “physical” encounters with the bra? Was protection worn while handling the bra (latex gloves, I mean of course)?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.