Saggy pants are butt-ugly but legal: judge
Dareh Gregorian, New York Post, July 29, 2010

You have the right to look ridiculous.

A Bronx judge has thrown out a summons issued against a Bronx man for wearing saggy pants, finding that “the Constitution still leaves some opportunity for people to be foolish if they so desire.”

Judge Ruben Franco said that although Julio Martinez may have offended the fashion police with his low-hanging and underwear-exposing pants, his manner of dress didn’t deserve a ticket from a cop.

“While most of us may consider it distasteful, and indeed foolish, to wear one’s pants so low as to expose the underwear . . . people can dress as they please, wear anything, so long as they do not offend public order and decency,” the judge wrote.

Martinez was given his summons for disorderly conduct on April 20 of last year.

The summons by the unidentified police officer charged that Martinez had acted in a disorderly manner because he had “his pants down below his buttocks exposing underwear [and] potentially showing private parts.”

There was no other reason listed for the ticket besides Martinez’s pants, and Franco noted: “The issuance of this summons appears to be an attempt by one police officer to show his displeasure with a particular style of dress.”

The officer has plenty of company — the sloppy look has been the subject of derision from people ranging from Bill Cosby to President Obama, and the super-low rider has been banned in numerous towns across the country.(Read the full article)