Paul A. Reid and Sonya Phang, Gleaner Writers
WESTERN BUREAU:
SENIOR RESIDENT Magistrate for St. James, Winsome Henry, on Wednesday told policemen it would not be necessary to ask young men appearing before her to remove their earrings.
She made the remark when a young man who appeared before her in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court was in the process of taking out his earring after being told to do so before entering the prisoners' dock.
"Men are now allowed to wear earrings in court. It seems over 60 per cent of them are wearing it now so it is OK," the senior RM said.
In the past, judges and police officers assigned to the Resident Magistrate's Court had always ordered men wearing earrings to remove the jewellery before going into the prisoners' dock.
On a number of occasions, different judges have voiced their opinions on dress codes for persons attending court and former Senior Resident Magistrate Ms. Valerie Stephens had commented on several occasions that women attending court should dress "as if they are attending church."
MATTER OF OPINION
Persons on bail and witnesses are asked to 'dress respectfully' when attending sittings of the Resident Magistrate's Court but according to a number of lawyers, proper dress is a matter of opinion.
Veteran attorney-at-law George Thomas agreed with the stance taken by the magistrate, saying nothing was wrong with men wearing earrings "as it did not interrupt the flow of the court".
He added that there were no pronouncements in the law about men wearing earrings and pointed out that in the past women were often urged to wear hats to court, even though there was nothing in the law to enforce this and it could be a matter of personal preference by the particular judge.
On occasions, judges in the Montego Bay Resident Magis-trate's Court have refused to allow women wearing sleeve-less blouses or dresses from appearing before them and on occasions have warned women about "dressing properly" when attending court.
There have been instances where judges have allowed various forms of dress and there was one occasion where an Italian visitor was allowed to appear in a T-shirt and shorts outfit, to translate for his friend who was held with a quantity of counterfeit American dollars.
