Judge’s Quick-Change Act Helps Redress an Injustice
HAYWARD, Calif. — When Municipal Judge Peggy Hora was faced with a woman defendant in an ill-fitting, khaki dress issued by the Alameda County Jail, she decided that was no way to appear before a jury.
The judge stepped into her chambers, slipped off the beige-and-black striped dress she was wearing and gave it to the defendant.
“You can never tell what a judge has on under the robe,†Hora said after the incident Wednesday. “I looked the same as I always look on the bench. It’s just that there was no dress there.â€
The 34-year-old defendant had been unable to post bail at the time of her Jan. 19 arrest on a grand theft charge.
“I certainly wasn’t going to let a jury see a defendant sitting in jail clothes,†the judge said, “And I just couldn’t see hanging up three attorneys, a judge and a jury over her not having something to wear.â€
But the quick-change act proved unnecessary when the defendant decided to plead guilty.
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