Judge's strict no-hat rule upsets cancer patient

Bev Williams of Richland wears a knitted beanie cap to cover her hairless head everywhere she goes, but not in Judge Holly Hollenbeck's courtroom.

The District Court judge told Williams, 43, to take her cap off or leave his court in the Benton County Justice Center on Friday morning.

"I was embarrassed. It made me cry," said Williams, who recently underwent six months of chemotherapy for cancer.

Williams said she wouldn't remove the cap as Hollenbeck instructed and left the courtroom, but she believes he could have made an exception when he learned why she wears a cap in public.

Hollenbeck said Williams was one of several people in his packed courtroom on Friday who were told to remove their hats or caps. All complied but Williams, he said.

Hollenbeck said each judge is different in how the no-hat rule is enforced.

"I ask everybody to remove hats," he said, noting the only reason he has allowed one — once — was for a religious reason.

Hollenbeck said, "I am very understanding with people who battle with cancer. My own mother died from cancer. I've had hundreds of cancer victims come through my court, and I've never had one not remove their hat, ever."

He added, "Refusal to remove shows contempt for the court and for the judge."

But Williams didn't see it that way. "It was rude and uncalled for," she said.

Williams said she was in court as moral support for her daughter, who was facing a misdemeanor charge.