
Appropriate courtroom fashion?
At the 2nd District Court in Ogden, Utah, female reporter Morgan Briesmaster was barred by court security from entering the courtroom to cover a story because her sleeveless blouse (left) violated the official dress code.
She eventually gained access by wearing a parka. Up until then, she told other journalists, she waited in the lobby “where she watched other courtgoers stroll through security with jeans and low-cut shirts.” Her boss ridiculed the situation, comparing it to high school yearbook dress codes, and noted that “any time a reporter is stopped from covering the news, it’s a concern.” There actually is a rule against wearing “tank tops” in that court, but I wouldn’t call what Briesmaster wore a tank top.
Your Ethics Alarms Ethics Quiz, which you may think is too easy, is this:
Was the court security unfair and unreasonable to bar reporter Briesmaster based on her shoulder-baring clothing?
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