Judiciary

Wisconsin Judge Has Dress Code for Lawyers and Beverages

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A Wisconsin judge who campaigned on a platform of dignity and decorum requires appropriate attire in his courtroom, even for beverages.

Judge Gene Gasiorkiewicz has issued court-approved travel mugs sporting the scales of justice and the name of his court branch in Racine, the JournalTimes.com reports. He paid $300 for about 100 mugs and warns that lawyers who lose their free cups will have to pay for the replacements.

“I drink coffee all the time,” Gasiorkiewicz said. “It’s not that I want to prevent someone from having a beverage, but there were mugs, Super-Slurpee kind of things with straws coming out.”

Gasiorkiewicz also told the JournalTimes.com that he sent one assistant district attorney back to his office because he wasn’t wearing a jacket. “He had five minutes to get dressed appropriately or he could hand the file off to someone else,” Gasiorkiewicz said. “I have not had a problem with any assistant district attorney since that time. Some of the defense bar is taking a little longer to acclimate themselves to it, but they’re learning.”

Hat tip to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel blog Proof and Hearsay.

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