Eyeglasses (© Radius Images/Corbis)

Lawyer gives clients glasses to make them more believable

3/30/2012

​New York defense lawyer Harvey Slovis has been handing out non-prescription, thick-rimmed hipster glasses to his clients to help them make a better impression on juries. He calls it his "nerd defense," and, indeed, African-American defendants wearing glasses are seen as more intelligent and honest, according to a 2008 study. (Glasses did not have the same effect with white defendants). It hasn't always worked: Slovis gave fake glasses to five African-American defendants on trial for a 2010 murder, but the prosecution caught on and branded the nerdy glasses as "masks."

most recent

Do you believe in the nerd defense?