Texas lawyer showed off her outfit which she was wearing for a court hearing, where the judge called her out and claimed she was inappropriately dressed.

San Antonio defense attorney Mariah Medina walked into Bexar County Court 12 wearing a gray sleeveless J.Crew dress she considered ordinary professional clothing. Before the morning was over, her outfit had become the subject of a courtroom confrontation and, days later, a national debate over what lawyers are expected to wear before a judge. The incident happened September 21 at the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center at 300 Dolorosa in downtown San Antonio, where Judge Yolanda Huff presides over County Court 12. Medina was appearing for a routine trial docket when Huff called her to the bench and questioned whether her sleeveless dress was appropriate courtroom attire. Medina, a former San Antonio television reporter who later became a criminal defense lawyer, said she had worn the same dress professionally before and had appeared in other courts without anyone objecting. The dress reportedly cost about $30 from J.Crew and fell around her knees. Medina argued that it was a business dress, not the "tank top" she said the judge characterized it as. Huff later gave a different account of the confrontation. She said the discussion occurred quietly at the bench and that her concern extended beyond the sleeveless dress to Medina's overall presentation, including tennis shoes and a backpack. Huff maintained that attorneys appearing in her courtroom are expected to dress professionally. Bexar County's written criminal court rules do leave room for individual judges. Attorneys are required to wear business attire, while business casual clothing is allowed at the discretion of the court. County guidance also tells women appearing in court to avoid tank tops and revealing clothing, although the rules do not specifically say that every sleeveless professional dress is prohibited. That ambiguity quickly became the center of the dispute. Some attorneys argued that wearing a blazer in court is a basic professional expectation. Others questioned why a knee-length business dress exposing only the shoulders should cause a problem, especially during a San Antonio September. Medina said she plans to wear a blazer the next time she appears before Huff, but she has not backed away from her position that the dress itself was professional. What began as a routine appearance in a downtown San Antonio courtroom ultimately turned into a much larger question with no simple written answer: exactly how much discretion should a judge have over what an attorney wears to court?