First time out in public

[SoCalCD_Tanya]

So I'm thinking of wearing my black skinny jeans, red womens top and red high heels to jury duty in a couple weeks.... My outfit will be mostly androgynous so I won't stand out too much. Being that it will be jury duty I feel as if people won't even pay attention to me since they will be too worried about whether or not they will be picked for jury duty... please let me know if you think this is a good idea or not

[Michelle Crossfire]

i am going to say that this may not be a good idea. the judge may think you are mocking the court system, not that it isn't messed up and deserves mocking, but it may be taken as you are not taking the matter seriously, depending on the case or cases to be tried. counsel may be likely to call you out on it, and i think it will ultimately get you dismissed from the jury pool

[prene]

I agree with crossfire.
I was on jury duty a few months ago and if you are picked as a jury member wow.
They will be asking your questions with all members looking and disecting everything you say.

If you want to get off the jury .... go for it.

If this is who you are then go head. This system is not about you but the trial, but I bet you will be questioned a lot if you are on the jury pool.... or dismissed.

[Karren H]

Don't listen to them... Go ahead and do it.... And hopefully they will put in a cell with the other women after the judge hold you in contempt. Or maybe not. Let us know what happens and take photos!! :).

[Cynthia Anne]

I say don't do anything you will be ashamed of! Express yourself in a matter you will be proud of! My self I'd have no problem going that way! I never let anyone tell me how to dress for I'm not dressing to please them! Life is short! Enjoy it! Hugs!

[Kaitlyn Michele]

have fun and enjoy!!!

I don't know the legalities but jury duty might be a little risky...last time i went i had to sit in a room for almost 6 hours before having my name called and then promptly dropped...

people WILL notice, but in all honesty that may be something you actually want???

[Jenniferathome]

You don't think people will notice red high heels? You are wrong.

[Sara Jessica]

So I'm thinking of wearing my black skinny jeans, red womens top and red high heels to jury duty in a couple weeks.... My outfit will be mostly androgynous so I won't stand out too much. Being that it will be jury duty I feel as if people won't even pay attention to me since they will be too worried about whether or not they will be picked for jury duty... please let me know if you think this is a good idea or not

First of all, congrats to you on deciding to go out into this wonderful world of ours. :)

There are several people in these pages who have done the jury duty thing with no issues at all. However, from what I can recall, these were not first-time tales. Think of jury duty as an upper division college course in the scheme of presenting as female in public. I couldn't recommend taking that class without the requisite lower division courses.

I suggest doing something much more low-key that will have less pressure. There is nothing androgynous about the look you describe. Will you be wobbly in heels? How refined is your presentation? Do you have any idea what your own personal comfort level will be? Nervous? Looking over your shoulder at ever turn? Worried about what others will think? These are all things which will be accentuated beyond belief should your first outing be in a fishbowl such as jury duty.

So my advice is to take your cute outfit and find a mall. Test the waters there, a place you can bail out of easy enough should the fire get a bit hot. Otherwise, you may very well find being out while presenting as female to be as natural as can be and with a little experience under your belt, you'll be more than ready the next time that jury summons comes around. Good luck!!! :)

[Stephenie S]

I agree with Sara Jessica here. Take it easy. Lots of people will be looking at you. Is that what you want?

[JessHaust]

I agree with Sara Jessica here. Take it easy. Lots of people will be looking at you. Is that what you want?

Yes, that is exactly what some of us want, we are not ashamed.

[SoCalCD_Tanya]

I guess the reason why I thought to make jury duty my first outing is that I would be in a room full of strangers (hopefully, I would die if i saw somebody I actually knew). But not only strangers to me, strangers among each other as well. I wouldn't expect most people to turn to some stranger and put themselves out for judgement by judging me to somebody they don't even know... I'm not sure if that makes sense lol. Also, I would be in a room full of adults. where as a mall or something I would be under the attack of teens and groups of people who are there together and what not. It seemed like a good idea in my head, however maybe i'll tone down the look a little bit. maybe i'll wear some flats instead of my red heels (which btw are pretty high, like 4.5 inches lol). It's not like I'm breaking any laws, its just clothes. Not quite sure what I'm going to do yet since i still have about 3 weeks until I wake up that morning and decide what to wear :). thanks so much for all of your input. its so nice to hear from everybody

[Robynts]

Tanya, several years ago I wrote this response to someone who was considering going to jury duty enfemme. Good luck with your decision.


I encourage everyone to exercise their right to sit on a jury. If you took the opportunity to do so you might learn a lot about the legal system and what and why the lawyers are doing what they are doing. The whole process is in place to protect the accused rights and provide consistency.

That said, you need to be careful making light of jury duty service. Once you step into a jury pool your are in the hands of the Judge. There are those judges (many conservative judges) who believe that the courtroom is THEIRS and what happens in that court room is what THEY want to happen. I have seen judges kick a juror out of their courtroom because their dress was "disrespectful of the bench." In once case the Judge gave the guy 30 minutes to be back in the courtroom in a jacket and tie or the judge was going to send him to jail.

Not to scare anyone, but respect for the bench (aka judge) is paramount.

To the girl who sent her summons back with the note on it......you might want to check and see if there is a bench warrant out for you, the judge can do that if you do not show up. Next time you get stopped for a traffic violation better hope you are not dressed cuz you may be spending time in the local jail.......

Remember....most Judges have the power to decide who lives and who dies.........the vast majority of them take this responsibility VERY seriously. The also take the behavior of potential jurors seriously too.

[Nicole Erin]

OK this comes up now and then about going to jury duty en femme. Thing is if the CD was dressed appropriately, as in, covered, would it not be some kind of discrimination if they got called out on their gender expression? I mean I would not show up in a bikini or hooker outfit but women's jeans and a red blouse do not seem over the top.

[Persephone]

First, I definitely admire your courage as you get ready for your first time out in public. Those first steps are some of the hardest.

But I think that Sara Jessica has said it best. As a first time out in public it is usually good to pick situations which give you "outs," opportunities to comfortably exit if you feel uncomfortable. Jury duty could put you in some complex circumstances with few, or even no, "outs."

You look lovely in your avatar and judging from that you should have no trouble in most situations. If you are here in SoCal as your avatar suggests (Did you feel that 4.0 off of Malibu yesterday?), then there are many opportunities to try your wings.

Hugs,
Persephone.

[Beverley Sims]

Try it in the mall, then go home and review it.
Try it in the court and you might be the cutie pie in cells with all the other guys.

[jjjjohanne]

This is hard to believe. You show your face in your Avatar, you have not had a first outing, and you are considering going out to an event that if you skip, you can be arrested??

There was a woman who went to Jury duty dressed in a Star Trek uniform. She wasn't mocking the system, she was just that way. It caused a stink.

[Beth Mays]

Chose your battles wisely.
There is a time and a place for everything.
Ask your self this... If you were not into the pink fog and another person did the same thing you have in mind would you ask the question.....
Is this person here as a show or is this as real to them as it will be to the court system?

[S. Lisa Smith]

I'm a lawyer. Not in Cali, so I don't know exactly what a judge there would do. Please don't go to jury duty en femme. Going out dressed is not a crime and won't get you jail time. Being in contempt of court is a crime and can get you jail time. I think that the initial reaction of a judge will be that you are dressing so that you won't be picked as a juror -avoiding jury duty, not that this is the expression of your self image. I always counsel my clients and friends to be very conservative when it comes to the law. Why be the test case? If you want to go out in public dressed, drive 50 miles to an out of your area mall and do so. Don't mess with the court system....

[Lyric]

Of all the places I can think of to make a first outing in high heels, jury duty would certainly not be my first pick. I had jury duty recently and half the time was spent standing around in the hallway waiting and the other half was sitting on those uncomfortable wooden benches in the courtroom. The lawyers and judge will being looking you over carefully and possibly asking you questions. And, of course, if you're chosen you may have to come back every day for several days. It's more of a drudgery than a fun outing. I'd suggest a trip to the movies as your first time.

~ Lyric ~