All local attorney Brittney Horstman was trying to do at Miami Federal Detention Center was visit a client.
Her bra wasn't trying to start any trouble, either.
But her underwear's underwire set off a metal detector at the facility's security checkpoint, and prison guards told Horstman her bra wasn't allowed inside.
Despite Horstman's protests that an earlier memo allowed female attorneys to enjoy support where it counts, guards wouldn't relent. So Horstman went to a nearby restroom, removed the offending bra, and attempted to re-enter in a blouse and blazer.
She did not go directly to jail. In fact, guards told Horstman she couldn't enter without a bra, either, citing the facility's dress code.
"Simply because I was a woman who wore a specific bra, my client was denied access to his attorney today," Horstman e-mailed a group of fellow lawyers, setting off a small to-do.
"This is completely unacceptable."
Local
Compounding Horstman's frustration was the fact that the dress code to which she was referred doesn't list any bra restrictions at all, though it doesn't end there. A few years ago, after others were similarly barred from seeing clients, prison officials announced that underwire-sporting lawyers could enter the jail if guards were able to use a wand metal detector to determine that the alarm was, in fact, coming from their bras.
Fortunately for Horstman's client, the Federal Public Defender's Office contacted the detention center's warden -- herself a woman -- who promised it wouldn't happen again.
Here's guessing the prisoners are even more relieved than Horstman. A supportless lawyer is better than no lawyer, but a little lift and seperation goes a long way in the clink.
