U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown stepped down from her bench to inspect the clothing and footwear that brothers Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy wore to court Wednesday for the start of jury selection in their federal conspiracy trial.

"Ammon Bundy is wearing a very nice sports coat,'' the judge noted. He was dressed in a gray suit, with an open-collar white shirt.

Ammon Bundy's lawyer pointed out his client's "urban loafers'' with white tennis socks.

"It's comical,'' his lawyer Marcus Mumford said.

"I don't find it comical at all,'' Brown responded.

Ammon's older brother Ryan Bundy stood before the judge, dressed in blue jeans, a brown leather vest over a white dress shirt, and wearing black loafers on his feet.

"I'm accustomed to boots and a belt,'' Ryan Bundy plainly told Brown.

Mumford and co-counsel J. Morgan Philpot argued that their client and his brother should be able to wear what they want at trial. Philpot said the court should consider their "presumption of innocence,'' though he could not cite a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling or other court case that said a criminal defendant is entitled to wear whatever they want at trial.

The U.S. Marshals Service does not allow defendants who are in custody to wear boots, neckties or belts because they can be used as weapons against deputy marshals or the defendants themselves, a deputy marshal told the court.

Judge Brown, eager to get jury selection underway, ruled from the bench that there was no evidence provided that the Bundys' trial wardrobe would in any way suggest to jurors that they were being held in jail.

"There has not been any showing these men are any different from any other defendant,'' the judge ruled.

She added of Ammon Bundy, "he's dressed better than most people in the building, period.''

"Let's get going folks,'' Brown said. "You're wasting time.''

Defense attorney Tiffany Harris, standby counsel for co-defendant Shawna Cox, chimed in and stood in support of the Bundys.

"The public saw them appearing emblematic of a certain rural culture,'' Harris argued.

Seeing the Bundys now in more staid suits could suggest to jurors that they're "somehow disavowing'' what was important to them and could be prejudicial.

Judge Brown held to her ruling. In her 25 years on the bench, she said, the vast majority of defendants who appeared before her were "not nearly as well dressed'' as these men.

Just as the judge was set to invite in potential jurors, Ammon Bundy's lawyer raised a new objection.

Mumford said he was concerned the heightened security outside the federal courthouse on Wednesday could prejudice jurors against the defendants - "again, I have nothing against law enforcement.''

"The reality of the situation is this judicial officer has been threatened,'' Brown told him. "Our lives have been threatened.''

Mumford asked where the threats came from, and the judge told him she didn't know. Whoever is selected to fill the 12 juror seats and 8 alternate spots will enter the courthouse through a private entrance, the judge told him.

Brown said she wasn't about to second-guess the security measures taken by the U.S. Marshals Service for the protection of everyone during the federal conspiracy trial.

The Bundy brothers are among seven defendants in trial, charged with conspiring to impede federal officers from carrying out their work at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County through intimidation, threats or force.

Of the seven, the Bundy brothers and Fry are the only defendants who remain in custody. Fry, who wore a blue knit sweater to court, did not challenge the wardrobe restrictions.

Jury selection began Wednesday and is expected to continue through the end of the week, with opening statements tentatively set for Tuesday.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian