Freedom in Dress: Legal Sanctions

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Abstract
The specific purposes of this paper were to identify dress choices which resulted in legal sanctions, to examine the legal basisfor sanctions, to specify stituations in which sanctions were upheld, and more generally to examine whether judges were sensitive to traditional or emerging social values in making their decisions. Cases involved individuals who either anticipated or suffered arrest or were denied city permits because their appearance was considered deviant. Dress aspects included the American flag as dress, military uniforms, group identification symbols, degrees of public nudity, and courtroom and prison dress. Data were taken from published case law reports appearing in West's National Reporter System. In recent years, an increasing number ofpeople initiated dress-related court cases challenging impending and actual arrests and city license denials. In 61 percent of the cases reviewed, judges ruled that legal sanctions were incorrectly applied. Judges were sensitive to emerging values in certain areas.

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