Ammon Bundy’s lawyer asked a judge to rule on a very important request Wednesday: that his client be able to wear cowboy boots to the trial for several Oregon standoff defendants, according to The Oregonian.
Bundy’s lawyer, J. Morgan Philpot, told the judge that because his client is a “cowboy” and has not yet been convicted of any charges, he should be able to dress however he pleases, which includes cowboy boots, neckties and belts.
“These men are cowboys, and given that the jury will be assessing their authenticity and credibility, they should be able to present themselves to the jury in that manner,” Philpot wrote in a motion, according to The Oregonian.
The newspaper also reported that Philpot does not want his client to look like a “disheveled slacker” during his trial for conspiracy charges stemming from the occupation of Oregon’s Malheur Wildlife Refuge earlier this year. It appears these concerns stemmed from an email sent to the defendants and obtained by The Oregonian, which detailed acceptable trial garb to be “Ties, Bows, Belts, Handkerchiefs, Cuff Links, Steel toe boots/shoes, Shoe laces, Shirt tie down straps, Safety pins, Shirt pocket pen protectors.”
Bundy’s plan to wear non-steel-toed boots was quickly shot down as well, according to the report. He said in court Tuesday that he’s never worn slip-on shoes or loafers before.
Barbara Alfono, the deputy U.S marshal in charge of the Bundy trial, said that the dress code was based on safety concerns.
Bundy showed up for jury photos in a suit jacket on Tuesday which the judge said was “perfectly appropriate” for court. But according to The Oregonian, his lawyer had other thoughts.
“We must consider, when he does so, how will he look? And what are the spot assumptions and impressions will the jury have about him when they see him in the kind of white socks and loafers he was wearing today, with his beltless trousers, and dressed in a formal suit without a tie,” Philpot wrote in the motion.
The judge was set to make a decision on Bundy’s cowboy outfits Wednesday, when the trial opens with jury selection, and urged the defendant to bring his choice of clothes just in case.
