Norfolk defense attorney Andy Protogyrou’s first look at his client wasn’t pretty. The man’s head was shaved clean as a bullet, and his Fu Manchu mustache dangled well past his chin. He wore standard-issue, motorcycle gang leather. Lots of it.
“The jury’s going to convict you just because of the way you look,” Protogyrou told his client.
The middle-aged man
and neck tie ensemble replaced his leather. He looked, Protogyrou, said recently, “like a 50-year-old banker.”
The client walked away from the federal trial with just misdemeanor convictions, he said.
These days, courtrooms have joined reality television shows as real-life examples of extreme makeovers. The wrong appearance, many lawyers say, can prejudice a jury or potential jurors.
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