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Judge orders haircuts for three young criminals on December 16, 1965.

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On December 16, 1965, in Juvenile Court in Seattle, Judge Stanley C. Soderland orders haircuts for three boys accused of burglaries. The young men, two aged 17, one 15, are chastised by the judge, who likens their looks to that of young girls.

The boys were accused of a string of small burglaries, making off with money, cigarettes, and booze. In court, Seattle Police Officer Pat Murphy detailed the crimes and the recovery of some of the loot at the home of one of the 17-year-olds. The three miscreants, each with a history of drinking, curfew violation, and hell raising, stood before the judge with page-boy haircuts that almost reached their shoulders.

Judge Soderland ordered the two oldest boys to stand trial as adults, and ordered the 15-year-old held for the State Department of Institutions in a work/study program. But the judge held his wrath for the most egregious act of societal contempt amongst the three.

"If you think you're being cute with that long hair," bellowed the judge, "you're wrong! You may think you are showing yourselves as rebels but you just look ridiculous. Why don't you go all the way and wear skirts and paint your faces?"

The judge ordered haircuts for all three, and they were escorted from the courtroom.

Sources:
"3 'Long Hairs' Clipped," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 17, 1965, p 32.

By Alan J. Stein, February 22, 2001

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