Judge to Female Lawyers: Love Your Cleavage, But "Tone It Down" to Avoid Looking Like a "Slut"

This article is out to Xray the conflicting standards that dictate how female lawyers ought to
dress in court.Are pantsuits acceptable,or should women stick to skirts? How about dresses? With or without a jacket? Should that jacket's cut be boxy or more feminine? And is any colour apart from black ever OK? The answer depends on the personal tastes of the judge,the stature of the court,and the region of the country it's in—and those gradations add up to an unclear and unfair expectation for women in the courtroom.

Now,a US federal Judge Richard Kopf of Nebraska,author of the blog Hercules and the Umpire,has chimed in to set the record straight. Kopf,who describes himself as a lifelong "dirty old man" prefers for comely young female attorneys to wear short skirts and low-cut tops in his courtroom.He prefers his comely young daughters ("and other young women that I care
deeply about") to do nothing of the sort.He does not address the issue of how female attorneys ought to
proceed if they are not the type of female attorneys that Richard Kopf finds sexually attractive.

Kopf tells two stories to illustrate how his creepy gaze vacillates from
protective to lecherous depending on the woman he's looking at.First,for the daughters (and other valuable women) in the audience: More than a decade ago,I freaked out when tall,statuesque,and beautiful daughter Lisa showed up at her older sister's (Marne's)wedding in a Catholic church … in a low-cut dress. Poor Joan,at my insistence,and at the last moment,rummaged around in the church's "lost and found" to locate a demure white sweater for Lisa to wear over her very revealing frock.I was spitting nails.Marne was in tears.The
groom had no idea what the fuck had just happened.Lisa shot me
daggers throughout the
ceremony.

And now,for the professionals:Around these parts there is a
wonderfully talented and very pretty female lawyer who is in her late twenties.She is brilliant,
she writes well,she speaks
eloquently,she is zealous but not overly so,she is always prepared,she treats others,including heropponents, with civility and respect,she wears very short skirts and shows lots of her ample chest.I especially appreciate the last two attributes.

Kopf distills his years of experience into three rules for women in the legal profession:First, "You cant" win. Men are both pigs and prudes. Get over it." Second,"It is not about you.That goes double when you are appearing in front of a jury." And finally,"Think about the female law clerks.If they are likely to label you,like Jane Curtin,an ignorant slut behind your back, tone it down."

When some readers accused Kopf of objectifying his colleagues,he defended himself by saying that he cares "passionately that federal trial judges be seen as individuals with all the strengths and weakness (baggage) that everyone else carries around." He added: "In the rough and tumble world of a federal trial practice,it is sometimes necessary to see and react to that world as it is rather than as we wish it would be."

Hmmm,what do you think about this weird Judge? I'm convinced a Nigerian Judge of his like would get referred to NJC for immediate disciplinary action. He may also likely be stoned in the northern part of our country for this. Anyways,enjoy your Friday!