Lawyer Reportedly Charged For Taking Off His Pants In Courthouse

No, we don't need to see THOSE briefs!

A Pennsylvania lawyer was caught with his pants down — in court — and has reportedly been charged with disorderly conduct for his behavior.

Earlier this week, Jeffrey Pollock, an Allegheny County attorney, was trying to pass through a metal detector at the Family Division courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh, only to set it off repeatedly. His suspenders were apparently the problem, but it would have been a pain to remove them from his pants. “Can they be taken off?” he said in an interview with Law360. “Yes. Was it necessary? No.”

After a conversation with security guards, Pollock grew “unfortunately frustrated” with the situation. He told TribLive that the security guard refused to wand him, which is what he says is supposed to be done when someone continuously sets off the metal detectors. Pollock claims the guard “got in [his] personal space,” and he “had a brain cramp, a brain fart, whatever you want to call it” and took off his pants.

It was at that point that the guards alerted Sheriff’s deputies.

According to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, at that point, Pollock was “standing in the middle of the Family Division rotunda wearing only his shirt and underwear.” Here’s an excerpt from their perhaps too-cutesy press release:

Typically, when Deputies are contacted to approach the magnetometers at the court facilities it involves a weapon, such as a knife or a firearm, not a half-naked man. …

Pollock … was released and charged with disorderly conduct for his gesture this afternoon.  The Sheriff’s Office would like to forewarn anyone who attends the Family Court Division that visible underwear is not part of the dress code.

Pollock, however, says this characterization of events is “unfair” and “not accurate.” In a conversation with Law360, Pollock explains:

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Pollock said he was detained for more than an hour but was never formally charged and was never read his Miranda rights. Another lawyer had to cover his hearing, which he was doing pro bono, he said.

Pollock said he has not decided if he will take legal action but worries about his reputation and whether he’ll lose clients as a result of the incident. “I don’t want this to be prolonged but I also don’t want people to think the worst of me,” he said. “It’s not fair.”

“I used poor judgment,” he told TribLive. “I was trying to make a point.”

DEPUTIES ARREST ATTORNEY AFTER DROPPING PANTS IN FAMILY DIVISION COMPLEX [Press Release: Allegheny County Sheriff]
Pittsburgh attorney, frustrated with metal detectors, ‘dropped his drawers’ in court building, official says [TribLive]
Pa. Attorney Cited For Taking Off Pants At Courthouse Door [Law360]
Another lawyer drops his pants to get through courthouse metal detector [ABA Journal]


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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