I've seen people in court with cargo shorts and flip-flops. I'm talking witnesses!
On a jury a few years back, I showed up with a shirt and tie and I was made the foreman of the jury, probably because I was better dressed than everybody else.
During that trial, I was still in Massachusetts, and I remember one of the court clerks being very angry with me because I had a copy of a Howie Carr book to read. People who work for the state government in Massachusetts really hate Howie Carr.
I was on jury duty in seattle a few decades ago (King Co. Superior court) on a 1 month long civil case. The “Jim Beam” suit was going on at the same time. The day the court found in favor of Jim Beam, the TV reporters and cameramen were at the bus stop asking people what they thought of the verdict (it was about a baby being born with fetal alcohol syndrome and the parents were suing Jim Beam).
The reporter came to me and asked me what I thought. I said, “Not only do I agree with it but I think they should be able to counter-sue on grounds that it was a frivolous lawsuit.”
It was shown on the news that night.
The next day in court. The plaintiff’s lawyers were looking over at the jury and discussing things and finally talked to the judge. The judge removed the jury - except for me. Then he asked me if it was me on TV last night. I said it was. He then asked me if my opinion on that case would impact my opinion on this one. I told him they were two completely different cases that had nothing to do with one another. He kept me on the jury.
BTW, we found for the defendant. A doctor was being sued for using a treatment that, though common, didn’t help in the end. It was dumb. But I got to give my jury nullification speech to the jury once we were permitted to deliberate. :)