When Jesse tried to attend the public arraignment of Mike Barskey, he was ordered by the bailiff upon entering the courtroom to remove his hat. He refused and, in a conversation with the judge about it, he stated he had moral reasons for wanting to keep his hat on. Faced with an ultimatum by the judge (either take off the hat or leave the courtroom), Jesse chose his own option: keep the hat and remain in the public courtroom. He was arrested, arraigned, and released on his own recognizance on the same day.
A few weeks later at his trial, he asked questions geared toward revealing the tyrannical nature of the court's arbitrary hat law and that Jesse harmed or threatened no one and in fact did not even cause a disturbance. The judge found Jesse guilty and imposed the penalty suggested by the prosecution: 1 day in jail satisfied by time served, and no fee.