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regulating such dress is higher: the government must
demonstrate a compelling interest.^202
By wearing nonprescripive eyeglasses to trial, a defendant
attempts to cultivate an image premised on potentially
misleading character traits that are associated with wearing
eyeglasses.^203 A defendant’s use of nonprescriptive eyeglasses
therefore presents a unique challenge to the criminal court
system: it is inconsistent with the First Amendment to prohibit a
defendant’s free expression through the use of nonprescriptive
eyeglasses at trial, but it is also inconsistent with the truth-
seeking principles of the judicial system to allow a defendant to
purposefully mislead a jury. This Note proposes a modified
change-of-appearance instruction that mitigates potential jury
manipulation and that does not carry with it the same
presumption of guilt as a standard change-of-appearance
instruction concerning specific identification matters.
V. PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
Harris confirms that the prosecution may inquire into a
defendant’s use of unnecessary eyeglasses and request a change-
(^202) See In re Palmer, 386 A.2d at 1115 (noting the need in the courtroom
to “accommodate the right to exercise the religious freedoms safeguarded by
the first amendment with the right of the state to regulate these individual
freedoms for the sake of societal interests”); see also McMillan v. State, 265
A.2d 453, 456 (Ct. App. Md. 1970) (stating that “[w]e are fully aware that
the orderly administration of courts of justice requires the maintenance of
dignity and decorum and for that reason rules of conduct and behavior to
govern participants are essential.... Understandably, respect for the courts
is something in which the State has a compelling interest”).
(^203) See Brown, supra note 9, at 2–6 (finding that defendants who wear
eyeglasses appear more intelligent and less physically threatening); Terry &
Krantz, supra note 41, at 1766 (finding that wearing eyeglasses increases
ratings for character, compassion, honesty, and sensitivity—but that
eyeglasses decrease ratings of attractiveness and forcefulness); Harris, supra
note 56, at 1674 (finding that those who wear eyeglasses appear more timid
and more intelligent than those who do not wear eyeglasses); Aylin Zafar,
“Hipster” Glasses Might Get You Off the Hook in Court, TIME (Mar. 30,
2012), http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/30/hipster-glasses-might-get-you-
off-the-hook-in-court/ (noting that eyeglasses help make an individual appear
“a little emasculated”).