Florida attorney barred from jail over bra, then lack of bra

Attorney Brittney Horstman was not packing heat. She was wearing an underwire bra. And when the metal detector went off on a visit to the Miami Federal Detention Center, security guards wouldn't let Horstman in to see her client.

The attorney reminded guards of a detention center ``memo'' allowing female attorneys wearing an underwire bra to enter. But the guards would not relent. Horstman stepped into a bathroom and removed her bra. In blouse and jacket, she returned, and cleared the walk-through detector.



Again, guards refused to let her pass - now, because she was braless, which is against prison dress code guidelines. ``So, simply because I was a woman who wore a specific bra, my client was denied access to his attorney today,'' Horstman e-mailed a group of fellow lawyers on June 4. ``This is completely unacceptable.''

``You are a true defense attorney taking your bra off to try to see your client in jail!'' Horstman's colleague, attorney Carmen Vizcaino, said in an e-mail. ``Betcha none of the guys have done that for their clients.''