Transgender public defender Stephanie Mueller, 70, with huge ... trends now
The work of a public defender is not typically considered very glamorous - but one transgender attorney in Washington is challenging stereotypes thanks to her eye-popping appearance.
Lawyer Stephanie Mueller, 70, has been open about her background and says it has no bearing on her ability as a public defender.
'I get good results because I'm a good lawyer. My gender is beside the point. This is very, very fabulous,' Mueller once said.
And on Thursday, the septuagenarian attorney raised eyebrows after appearing before a Seattle court in a very revealing outfit.
Stephanie Mueller, 70, is one of Washington state's only openly transgender female trial attorneys
She transitioned in 2012 but had recognized her femininity since the age of six. Since coming out she says she has been treated with complete respect and great acceptance' in court
Mueller donned a fitted, low-cut blue top with no bra underneath that displayed her enormous, surgically-enhanced boobs.
She also wore a pair of skin-tight black leather pants and boots. Mueller completed her look with a black choker, yellow earrings and heavy makeup that included scarlet lipstick, green eyeshadow and thick false eyelashes.
Seattle journalist Jonathan Choe was in court to cover the case of Iris Boardman, a left-wing protester charged with disrupting a Seattle City Council meeting.
But it was Mueller who caught his Twitter followers' eyes.
Mueller was a model of efficiency in the courtroom and was filmed agreeing a date for a future hearing for Boardman - May 6 - with no-one around her batting an eyelid at her garb.
She also proved she is not to be trifled with during an exchange with a journalist outside following the proceedings.
When challenged that her client had been caught on camera, beaming Mueller quickly became steely.
'She's innocent of course,' Mueller insisted. 'My client has plead not guilty and she is not guilty, how about that?'
It is the kind of seasoned response that could only have come from her two decades' experience working as a representative for underprivileged clients accused of misdemeanors in the small town of Vashon.
Despite her outlandish appearance, Mueller insists she has been 'treated with complete respect and great acceptance' since transitioning in 2012 and her over-the-top appearance has no bearing on her cases.
'It's really important to know that since I transitioned, full-time, more than 4 years ago, I have been treated with complete respect and great acceptance both personally and professionally,' she wrote on a 2016 GoFundMe page raising money for a new car.
'Everywhere I go, people are friendly and polite. In the courtroom, the issue has never once arisen - as should be the case.'
Mueller believes she may be the only openly transgender woman trial attorney in the state and says she uses her position to bring 'diversity to the practice of law.'
But she admits it can feel 'really lonely' to be in such a trailblazing
