Miami Federal Detention Center Guards Foil Attorney Wearing---or Not---an Underwire Bra

Guards at the Miami Federal Detention Center must have an interesting job description. One minute, they are the solemn enforcers of building security. The next minute they are...fashion police!

An attorney attempting to visit her client at the Miami Federal Detention Center recently was denied entry when her underwire bra set off a metal detector, according to various news reports. The attorney tried to enter the detention center a second time after she removed the offending undergarment in a bathroom and returned wearing a blouse and jacket. This time, however, the guards refused to allow the attorney inside because she wasn't wearing a bra.

Detention Centers Have Dress Codes, You Know...

Dress code regulations for the Miami Federal Detention Center require "visitors" to wear brassieres, but they do not specify a particular kind or prohibit underwire bras. It has been reported that several years ago, the Federal Public Defender's Office worked out a procedure with the detention center that permits female lawyers to enter if guards determine from a wand-scan that an underwire bra is what set off the metal detector alarm. This time, however, the guards refused entry.

Surely the writers for NBC television's Saturday Night Live show are already hard at work on a skit featuring "Ex-Police" and "Miami (Federal Detention Center) Vice" characters.

But this incident raises a number of interesting issues.

Is the Underwire Bra Exclusion Unfair?

One issue is gender fairness, of course. Do male attorneys face this kind of fashion obstacle course at the detention center? The Miami Federal Detention Center guards probably don't care whether the guys wear boxers, briefs or even "go commando" in a fashion sense; the detention center dress code does not address this. One might argue that the term "briefs" has more of a legalistic or law-related connotation that would make briefs the preferred undergarment for male lawyers. Some trial lawyers who spend their days engaged in heated courtroom battles, however, may prefer the more pugilistic-sounding boxer undergarment. Are they denied this option?

A New Fashion Debate

This also raises an issue of fashion choices for female attorneys. It used to be that female attorneys had to give some thought about whether to wear a skirt or a pants suit to court. Now, client considerations (such as, you can't consult with your client if you can't get into the detention center to see him or her) may dictate that the attorney choose a bra based not upon how it fits or how it looks, but upon how metal detectors respond to it. One solution---which, suspiciously, could benefit certain preferred prison suppliers---might be to have sports bras available for purchase by visiting attorneys in the prison canteen.

What about the bra manufacturers? Will the incident in Miami lead to a new era in bra design? We've had "No Excuses" jeans. Perhaps the next new fashion label will be "Barrister Bras." The advertising might feature a business-like, professional-looking woman saying, " I dreamed I was admitted to the Miami Federal Detention Center in my Barrister Bra."

Miami's Unmentionable Security Dilemmas

At a time when Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners at airports throughout the United States are starting to use full-body imaging machines to examine airline passengers in minute detail--- through their clothing--- the Miami Federal Detention Center guards are worried about bra-less attorneys running rampant in their lock-up. What is it about Miami security people these days? In May, a Miami International Airport screener was arrested for allegedly beating a co-worker with a police baton after the co-worker made jokes about the screener's private body parts. The co-worker acquired his intimate knowledge of the screener when the screener was scanned with a full-body imaging machine during a training session.

A New Chapter in Bra History

Wikipedia will undoubtedly have to add a new section to its "History of Brassieres" to commemorate the Miami (Federal Detention Center) Vice guards event. Wikipedia asserts (with detailed footnotes) that "Women, health professionals, feminists and fashion writers appear to be increasingly questioning (the bra's) place and function, and asking whether it will go the way of pantyhose, garter belts and stockings."

Bras aren't going away at the Miami Federal Detention Center, though, for the time being.

Wikipedia notes that "Approximately 90% of women in North American wear a bra as of 2006." As of 2010, it's difficult to ascertain whether the Florida Bar Association requires the practice of non-underwire bra-wearing as a prerequisite for admission to the practice of law for the 10 percent of women (or any percent of men) in North America who choose not to wear bras. But if the Florida Bar has been remiss in this matter, it's good to know that the Miami Federal Detention Center is on the case.

The local federal public defender's office reports that the warden has investigated the underwire bra/attorney entry refusal matter and assures them it will not happen again.

It's too late. It's "red alert" time for the staff at Saturday Night Live...

Resources:

Attorney Stopped From Jail visit Over Bra, Associated Press 6/12/10

Wrong Bra, No Bra, Jail Bars Lawyer,The Miami Herald 6/12/10

David Ovalle, Miami Airport Screener Accused of Attack After Jeers at Genitals, miamiherald.com 5-7-10

U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons Web site, including PDF of visitor regulations

Wikipedia, "History of Brassieres," accessed 6/15/10