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Jail officials dispute claim defendant had no pants

Andrew Wolfson
The (Louisville) Courier-Journal
A cell at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections. A judge was angered Friday, July 29, 2016, when it appeared a female defendant arrived in court with no pants on.

LOUISVILLE — Amid reports that a defendant was brought into a courtroom here last week without any pants on, a spokesman for the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections said the defendant was wearing shorts and that the jail did nothing wrong.

On Friday, Jefferson District Court Judge Amber Wolf exploded in anger when the woman's lawyer said she'd been brought into the courtroom without pants on. The incident was captured on courtroom video.

“This is outrageous!” said Wolf, who called the jail from the bench demanding an explanation.

But Steve Durham, the jail’s assistant director and spokesman, said in an interview Saturday night that neither Wolf nor her lawyer checked to see that the woman had shorts on under a long T-shirt.

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“The judge drew a conclusion she didn’t have pants on and didn’t do anything to confirm that,” said Durham. "If we had taken somebody over with no pants on we should be held responsible. We didn't."

Wolf couldn’t be reached Saturday night for comment.

In an email to staff that was provided to The (Louisville) Courier-Journal, jail director Mark Bolton said the defendant was handled the same way as 32,000 other people booked a year.

“Perceptions do matter, but facts matter more,” Bolton said in the note.

Neither the woman nor her lawyer were identified in a courtroom video, but the lawyer also told Wolf that her client also had been denied feminine hygiene products during three days in the jail.

Durham said there is “an abundance” of such products available in the dorm where new inmates are housed.

He also said it is the industry standard for people to be kept in the clothes they were wearing upon arrest for 72 hours. He said the defendant was arrested in Lexington, Ky., in the same outfit she wore to court.

The defendant was charged with failing to show up for a diversion program after a conviction for shoplifting.

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The story was first reported by WDRB-TV, Louisville. According to a courtroom video, Wolf, apologizing to the woman profusely, called the jail and said, “I am looking for (Director) Mark Bolton or anyone who can come over and tell me why there is a female defendant standing here with no pants on?”

While Wolf was on hold, she said to her staff, “Can we get her something to cover up with? Anything?”

Metro Corrections Chief of Staff Dwayne Clark brought clothing to the woman and told Wolf that she should have been given a jumpsuit, the station reported.

"Dressed like she was," Clark said, "she should have been changed into a jumpsuit. I gotta look into why she wasn't."

But Durham said the jail followed standard operating procedures, and that it was the sheriff’s office that brought her to the courtroom.

“During warm summer months, we get people all the time who are wearing shorts and T-shirts and miniskirts and tank tops,” he said.

Follow Andrew Wolfson on Twitter: @adwolfson

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