Why barrister wig

But the Bench was not uniformly in favour. The popularity of wigs amongst barristers was far from universal. During the very hot summer of , Wilde J allowed barristers to remove their wigs. Sir Robert shortly afterwards became Attorney-General and a judge of Common Pleas but he then probably abandoned his stance: there is no evidence that barristers in his court were granted any indulgence.

There was judicial manoeuvring in , just before the first woman was called to the Bar, for the headwear of a woman barrister to be a biretta—a square cap with three or four ridges or peaks—rather than a wig. Although the Bar and Bench had, it appears, reconciled itself to the wig, Parliament had not entirely. In , the House of Commons took time out from inventing the NHS to debate a motion to include in the Criminal Justice Bill a clause prohibiting the wearing of wigs and gowns in court.

The House of Commons Standing Committee debate was not perhaps of the highest quality. He said nothing about nurses although I think we all agree that they look very pretty in their distinctive attire. And there it ended until and the Taylor consultations and, 16 years later, the debate continues.

The Law Society has now successfully pressed for the right of solicitor advocates to wear wigs in court. Should solicitors really have been willing so readily to abandon an honourable and settled tradition of bare-headedness stretching back as far as the s? A further process of consultation surely beckons. Dan Stacey is a barrister at Hailsham Chambers. The forthcoming Race at the Bar report, and what the Bar Council is doing on the intersecting issues of race discrimination, equal opportunity and social mobility.

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Seasons and the type of legal case determine the colour and style of robe British judges wear. Barrister robes of violet, green, black, and scarlet have served different purposes through the years, though the color requirements have fluctuated many times in the last few centuries.

But What About Judge Wigs? The fashion trends of the 17th century helped judge wigs work their way into courtrooms too and the headpieces were fully adopted as proper legal attire by with just as many strict rules as robes. For that reason, solicitors in England abandoned wearing wigs in the s and many courts have done the same, from the civil and family courts more than a decade ago, to the UK supreme court in , to the Scottish court of session three years later.

They have no personal interest in the case. The wig emphasises their anonymity, their separation, their distancing. John McNamara , who specialises in defending criminal cases, agreed, saying that wearing a wig is generally popular even among his younger peers.

They can become very uncomfortable in a hot courtroom and are awkward to carry everywhere, he says. We need now to have sustained reinvestment in the criminal justice system.