WEARING PANTS TOO LOW NOT ILLEGAL (AND NOT CAUSING ACCIDENT, YET)

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Bronx Injury Lawyer)

On April 20, 2009 a Bronx cop gave Julio Martinez a summons for disorderly conduct for wearing his pants too low, with undershorts showing above the waistline of his pants. This fashion "don't" apparently bugged a New York City police officer.

It seems that wearing your pants down to your knees is a little bit outlaw, coming out of the prisons where, for security reasons, convicts are not given belts to hold up their prison uniform pants which may be too large.

Believe it or not, in some places there are laws against wearing your pants too low. But not in New York City or the Bronx (or Brooklyn or Queens either).

So Mr. Martinez's Legal Aid attorney asked the judge to toss out the summons, because the fine officers of the NYPD are not the fashion police. On June 11, 2010 Mr. Martinez won his case when Bronx Criminal Court Judge Ruben Franco dismissed the summons, because the manner in which Mr. Martinez wore his trousers did not offend public order or public decency.

And, Bless America, Judge Franco pointed out that, "the Constitution still leaves some opportunity for people to be foolish if they so desire."

Too true.