Women entering the Wyandotte County Courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas, say their underwire bras are triggering hypersensitive metal detectors, and they are then forcibly patted down by female deputies. The sheriff’s office says it’s protecting the courthouse.

Nicole Forsythe thought she was doing the right thing when she agreed to accept cases for indigent criminal defendants in Wyandotte County in 2022, helping out because there was a shortage of attorneys willing to do what is difficult and often underpaid work.

Then, in fall 2023, security screenings were changed at the Wyandotte County Courthouse — and it was immediately noticeable to women trying to get into the building.

“All of a sudden, my bra started going off,” Forsythe said. “And everybody’s bra started going off.”

New metal

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