So I've moved and I'm a city prosecutor in a growing suburb of Houston. I went from felonies to Class C misdemeanors, which means more trials, less stress, and more dealing with stupid people (as opposed to dealing with their attorneys).
Important thing to know for this story: There's a rule in this court (that is common in most courts) that people are not allowed to wear shorts. I don't mind bending the rule if someone is A) legitimately wearing a work uniform (like a USPS employee, etc.) or B) a woman wearing nice capri pants or some sort of matching set. That being said, if you come to court in jorts and expect that to fly when you've already been to court once and should rules about attire, I don't have much sympathy for you.
Yesterday we had pretrial settings in the morning and the afternoon. I was talking to someone in the courtroom and an officer came and got me to talk to a woman who was distraught about not being allowed in the courtroom while wearing above-knee-length jean shorts. I went out to talk to her, her case was set for trial since she wasn't going to be allowed in to the court, and I went back to my other conversation. Story over. Except, this morning I found out from our bailiff that when she was told she would not be allowed in the courtroom because of what she was wearing, this sobbing crazy person actually CALLED THE COPS on the bailiff. News flash, the "Mommy, she's being mean to me!" approach does not endear you to the prosecutor, the bailiff, or anyone else in court. You are told you can't come in the court because you are dressed inappropriatedly (which anyone who has EVER watched TV should know) and so you cry and call the cops? I shudder to think what else this 40-something-year-old woman has called the police about during her life.
