VENTURA : Public Defenders Outfit Their Clients for Courtroom

Nowhere is the saying that clothes make the man--or woman--given more weight than in the courtroom.

The sight of a defendant wearing a jail uniform to trial, defense attorneys say, can sometimes sway an undecided juror with the implicit message that the person is already a criminal.

For that reason, attorneys with the Ventura County public defender’s office keep a collection of men’s and women’s clothes on hand to lend to defendants who go to court directly from their jail cells.

“Prison clothing strips you of any individual identity,” said Deputy Public Defender Jean Farley. “By loaning clothes, we try to let the person look like they would if they were not in jail.”

Farley said the effect that a defendant’s borrowed outfit has on a jury may be impossible to measure, although she said some cases have been reversed on appeal because the defendant had worn jailhouse clothes to his trial.

Refusing to wear civilian clothes can also send a message, she said. Several years ago, a defendant accused of stealing a television set from a relative told Farley that he was proud to be incarcerated and turned down her offer to loan him an outfit.

But the short-sleeved jail uniform revealed many of the man’s tattoos, including the name of the prison where he had previously served time. “I had to make it clear to the judge that my client refused to dress up,” Farley said.

The man, who was facing a strong case anyway, was convicted.

Farley credits Senior Investigator Walter Stegmeir with organizing and improving the collection of outfits that had once been stashed haphazardly in a small room.

“The clothing room was in a state of chaos when I came to the office five years ago,” Stegmeir said. “People would just throw dirty clothes back there with no rhyme or reason.” Stegmeir is often seen leaving for home with an armload of shirts and pants and returning with freshly laundered clothes, Farley said.

The donations from attorneys, staff and others, including former county supervisor Madge Schaefer, have supplied the office with enough clothes to help most indigent clients, he said. But the office could use more women’s clothes.

A defendant with oversized feet or short legs sends the lawyers scurrying to local thrift shops, Stegmeir said.

But dressing up a defendant in clothes that he would not customarily wear is unnecessary and sometimes self-defeating, Stegmeir said.

“When a witness or a defendant wears a thousand-dollar suit, the jury can distrust them,” he said.

Farley said wearing suitable clothes to court not only improves an indigent defendant’s chances for a fair trial, but it also shows respect for the court proceedings.

“I happen to be from the old school where you wore your best clothes for church--and also to court.”