Extreme makeover: criminal court edition: should a court pay to cover up a defendant's tattoos?

• Author: Schwartz, John
• Position: THE LAW

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When John Ditullio went on trial last December in Florida, jurors didn't see the large swastika tattooed on his neck. Or the crude insult on the other side of his neck. Or any of the other tattoos he'd collected since being jailed on charges related to a double stabbing that killed a teenager and wounded a woman in 2006.

Ditullio's lawyer argued that the tattoos might prejudice jurors, who under the law are supposed to consider only the facts of the case (and in this instance, Ditullio's appearance at the time of the crimes). The stakes were particularly high for Ditullio, with the death penalty a possibility.

The court approved a makeover for the defendant, paying a cosmetologist $125 a day to mask Ditullio's post-arrest tattoos during each of the eight days of his trial.

The case shows some of the challenges lawyers face when trying to prepare clients for trial--whether going to a thrift shop so a poor defendant can wear decent clothes, or telling wealthy clients to leave the bling at home. But it also raises questions about how far the legal system--and taxpayers' money--should go to protect defendants like Ditullio, who freely emblazoned his flesh with offensive images.

"It's easier to give someone who looks like you a fair shake," says Bjom Brunvand, Ditullio's lawyer. "Without the makeup being used, there's no way a jury could look at John anal judge him fairly."

But others, like the mother of...