1: Naomi Campbell: Black is a popular courtroom colour that suggests power and, combined with sunglasses, defiance. In court to answer charges of assaulting her cleaner with a telephone, Campbell refused to pander to the court by looking sweet and innocent; her figure-hugging Lycra was more suited to a cocktail party. Her sleeveless dress also showed off well toned arms: not such a great idea when you are on an assault charge.

2: Martha Stewart: Charged with (and later jailed for) acting on an inside tip from her broker and lying to a lawyer, Martha Stewart eschewed her cosy domestic goddess for black. But she just couldn’t resist showy accessories. An Hermés bag and a fur stole might appear to be a strange choice for someone accused of having dodgy finances — perhaps a casual dusting of flour on her cheeks would have said: “I cook cakes, not the books.”

3: Catherine Zeta-Jones: For her privacy action against Hello! over unauthorised pictures of her wedding to Michael Douglas, her black suit said confident and businesslike, but still blended into the crowd. She wanted to be left alone. Similarly, sunglasses blocked out the prying eyes of the court and the media. But, looking closely, they were only lightly tinted. She wanted to be seen by her public, but only so much.

4: Winona Ryder: Winona's career had hit something of a plateau at the time of her trial for shoplifting, but a succession of ultra feminine, ingénue-like outfits successfully brought her back into the public eye. In the courtroom she wore lashings of mascara - to suggest wide-eyed naivety (when your Bambi eyes plead innocence all by themselves, why hide them with sunglasses?) and abandoned her signature grunge look for something more polished. Ryder's outfits ranged from all white with a pleated schoolgirl skirt (so pure) to an all-black ensemble that was almost nun-like in its simplicity (nuns don’t steal). However she saved her biggest statement for the brand she frequently wore - Marc Jacobs - the very label she was rumbled trying to shoplift. Call it tongue-in-cheek-chic.

5: Heidi Fleiss: By dressing in the conventional uniform of the powerful female - shoulder-pads and sky high heels - Fleiss was making a bid to seem like a legitimate businesswoman, yet without a hint of submissiveness. When she arrived at the court she successfully pulled off the Manhatttan working girl look of the early 90’s, but unfortunately as the trial progressed, her affiliation with the other kind of working girl started to reveal itself. When she sat down in court her skirt provocatively rose halfway up her thigh, and the front of her suit dress started to slip - just like her call girl empire.

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