Jail tells female attorneys to remove bras before meeting with clients

Underwire bras are setting off the metal detectors and a new policy to have women remove their bras is causing controversy.

Female defense attoeys in Portland, Maine, are unhappy with the new policy that took effect on Sept. 10 at the Cumberland County Jail. 

Amy Fairfield told the Portland Press Herald, "It’s absolutely outrageous. He said, ‘Are you wearing an underwire bra? Might I suggest you go to the bathroom and take that off?’ I said, ‘I will not. I am completely offended at that notion.'"

Fairfield had acknowledged that she had been asked to take off jewelry but never for her bra before the new policy.

She sent a letter to Sheriff Kevin Joyce, who told the Portland Press Herald in a phone interview, "There is no way (for a metal detector) to differentiate people with underwire bras and someone bringing in a gun."

Fairfield considers the issue to be discriminatory and said it's a "constitutional issue."

She also reported the policy to the chief judge of Maine's Superior Court, Justice Roland Cole.