Judge strikes a blow for dress standards

Judge Milton F. "Toby" Fitch has struck a blow for civility, propriety and respect by holding several visitors to his Wilson County courtroom in contempt of court for violation of dress standards. The standards are prominently displayed outside the courtroom. Among the banned attire are shorts, spaghetti-strap tops, tube tops, untucked shirt tails, saggy pants, bare midriffs or cleavage, and shirts with obscene or profane writing. Ringing cell phones and pagers are also forbidden.

Fitch (the accompanying photo shows him in his Masonic attire) had some visitors arrested and sentenced to a 30-day stay in jail, during which time they would wear more appropriate, bright orange clothing. The judge let the offenders go after a few hours in the pokey, but he made his point.

What's interesting in the Wilson Times coverage of the incident is the comments readers added. Several people praised Fitch for upholding standards, but a few questioned the judge's right or justification to hold these visitors in contempt. One called him a "power-hungry tyrant." Another seemed to doubt whether he had the authority to hold someone in contempt for the way they dress. Several expressed wonder at harsh sentences for courtroom attire while some convicted felons leave the courtroom with no prison time.

Judges have broad discretion over their courtrooms and can impose virtually any standards they choose within reason. Fitch was perfectly justified in holding these free spirits who think rules don't apply to them in contempt of court. The rules are posted outside the courtroom, and a basic understanding of decency and respect would inform most people that they should dress appropriately to the situation, but decency and respect are becoming rarer commodities.

Thirty years ago, on the rare occasions when my wife and I would go out for a "nice" dinner, we would dress up, meaning a coat and tie for me and a fancy dress for her. We could count on other patrons of a "nice" restaurant being similarly attired. But now, it's not unusual to see someone in ragged jeans and a T-shirt dropping $100 on a meal served by a waitress far better dressed than the customer. Every place is relaxing dress standards. I wore a tie to work nearly every day for more than 30 years, but the last few years, I was the only one in the office wearing a tie. Look at photos from baseball and football games in the 1950s. Most of the men in the stands were wearing coats and ties. Suits and ties were once known as "Sunday clothes," but churches are also "dressing down," and even ministers eschew the tie or clerical collar at many churches. One might claim that this trend is simply a transition similar to the transition at the end of the Victorian Era, when people stopped "dressing for dinner" in formal clothes. But I think it's more than an evolving lack of formality; it's a carryover of the 1960s' anti-establishmentarianism, when dignity, respect and social standards gave way to free expression, individuality and contempt for social mores.

It seems unlikely that this shift will be reversed any time soon, but if the tide is to be turned, the courtroom is a good place to begin.