Hundreds of years of
use
For hundreds of years headgear of
some kind has been worn in court. In early Tudor times it was a black flat
bonnet or cap.
Lawyers and judges started wearing wigs around 1680. For 150 year the legal wig was usually of powdered white or
grey hair.
In 1822, Humphrey Ravenscroft invented a legal wig made of
whitish-grey horsehair that did not need frizzing, curling, perfuming or
powdering.
Black cap for capital
punishment
Then came the square cap. Right up to the permanent abolition of
capital punishment in 1969 judges wore a form of this black cap, on top of their
wigs, when passing sentence of death.
Wigs and fashion
The word wig is short for periwig, derived from the French word for a wig,
perruque.
Fashion conscious
courtiers tried to outdo one another with the size of their wigs.
Even to this day, a
person who is of particular importance, or thinks he is, is called a ‘bigwig’.
By 1680 most judges and
barristers wore wigs in court; they were simply following the fashion of the
day. At that time they signified wealth and status.
Initially, judges
thought the wigs were “coxcombical” (flashy as worn by dandy) and so didn’t
allow young advocates to plead in them. But the wigs gradually became more
accepted and stuck as a mode of court dress.
Women barristers need to
adjust their hair style to accommodate their wig.
Wigs, like hats come in
sizes and have to be fitted.
Wigs and hygiene
At first they were made
of human hair. People in debt would sell their hair to the wigmaker, and there
was a macabre trade in the hair of the dead.
It is thought that wigs
had value because of head lice spread from unsanitary court rooms the wearer
having a shaved head beneath his wig. Court rooms in earlier centuries
were decidedly smelly places and judges were in the custom of carrying a posy of
flowers to hide the stench of the hapless court users.
Wigs are still worn in court in many other countries – well over
twenty – including some with the hottest climates in the world.
Student barristers
On completing the Bar Vocational Course students are "called to the bar" in
the dining hall of their Inn. Thereafter he/she will be in need of a wig.
Being
called to the bar is the first stage of an entitlement to practice law,
conditional on obtaining a practice certificate.
They have to complete further
"continuous professional development" and at least 12 months further training
called pupillage .
Barristers from former colonial countries are required to wear wigs, and also
have to travel to London to be "called", keep terms and receive some of their
training.
Queen's Counsel garb
Senior barristers called Queen's Council (QCs) wear silk gowns and elaborate
buttoned "jackets". Junior counsel wear a suit under their gown.
The Gown
Junior barristers have to purchase a full black gown
made of cotton or modern fabric. The design derives from the style of
mourning gown adopted by the Bar following the death of Charles II in 1685.
The shirt
The shirt has a removable
double-tabbed linen band that serves as a collar. The tabs are said to
represent the tablets of Moses. These are attached by collar studs to collarless
shirts. At an investiture ceremony held at
Middle Temple Hall on May 2, 1594, the then Lord Chief Justice advised new
recruits about court dress.
Referring to the pair of linen "bands", suspended from a stiff collar, that
counsel still wear in court, he said:
"These two tongues do signifie
that as you should have one tongue for the rich for your fee, as a reward for
your long studies and labours, so should you also have another tongue as ready
without reward to defend the poor and oppressed."
Junior barristers
It is a signal of junior status that
a young barrister will wear a bright new wig, to wear a well worn yellowing or
greying wig will look incongruous.
Barristers wear "tie-wigs," which cover half the head.
Judges wear smaller "bob-wigs".
Ceremonial occasions
On ceremonial occasions, Queen's Counsel,
judges, and members of the House of Lords wear a floppy, shoulder-length
"spaniel wigs" which blow in the wind.
The
only time barristers wear these long wigs in real cases is when the Queen's
Counsel (leading counsel) accompanied by their junior counsel receive the
speeches (judgments) of the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary at the bar of the House
of Lords.
These cases are of profound
importance and usually involve the establishing of legal principle, hence the
ceremony.
Buying a wig
A virtual monopoly in the supply of barristers garb is held by Ede &
Ravenscroft in Chancery Lane who require a £150 deposit for the rental of a standard
£459 barrister's wig, due to thefts from the Inns of Court.
There is a small market in
second-hand wigs cast by those who have failed to succeed in the profession.
Sometimes they are acquired from relatives who have retired from practise at the
bar.
Figures from the MoJ show that a High
Court judge's attire can amount to £14,920. This includes the cost of two
long-haired scarlet robes and a silk alternative which cost £7,680.
The horsehair wig costs £1,295. Still
included at £89 is a black cloth sentence cap, which judges used to put on to
pass the death sentence.
Other items include court breeches
with buckles at £665, court shoes and buckles at £235 and a black silk scarf at
£320. All paid for by the taxpayer.
Construction and upkeep of wigs
The wigs are made from white
horsehair and are more correctly called "forensic" (of the law) wigs.
The basic design of a barrister's wig is a frizzed crown, below which are four
rows of seven curls, then one row of four curls with one curl vertically between
them, and two tails, looped and tied.
The forensic wig requires no
“maintenance” other than an occasional shake, and is usually kept in a dark
steel box with red or blue trim when not on the barrister's head.
The box in turn is kept in a bag,
along with the gown and other bits and pieces. Most wigs last a lifetime, after
many years they become discoloured and untidy, there
is a point where a really battered wig is such a mess it requires replacing.
When wigs are not worn
Solicitors do not normally wear wigs.
Solicitor Queen's Counsel do, and since January 2007 solicitor-advocates have
worn them in the same circumstances as barristers. Solicitor-advocates wear all the forensic garb
although their gowns are marginally shorter).
A wig does not have to be worn by a barrister who needs to wear a turban for
religious reasons.
Barristers appearing in Magistrates' Courts do not
wear wigs.
Certain proceedings will stipulate how the barrister should dress,
for example in "chambers" a barrister is not required to wear a gown and wig.
Why barristers wear wigs
Wigs confer dignity and solemnity on
court proceedings.
They also provide anonymity, not in
the sense of providing a disguise or camouflage, but a distancing from personal
involvement
The wig is an emblem of privilege,
and young barristers are keen to retain them, senior members of the bar less so.
Surprisingly, it is the clients and
other regular court users who are most enthusiastic about retention.
They are hot in the summer and if the barrister has not got a good head of hair
they can be itchy . Barristers remove them at every opportunity, they are
not comfortable.
In the last few years the speaker of the House of Commons and more recently
the Lord Chancellor have dispensed with wearing a
wig in parliament, after centuries of tradition.
So, why are they worn? The dress code for barristers is laid down by the
judges, a barrister improperly dressed will "not be seen" by a judge, and most
importantly the judge will declare "I cannot hear you", no matter how loudly he
is talking.
Some other 'traditions':
Barristers never shake hands either in court or when meeting socially. The
reasons are that it is a small profession where many know each other from early
years of training or regular appearance in court, and of course dining
together. More importantly perhaps, is that a client would not be impressed if
his advocate appeared to be very friendly with his opponent's advocate.
Barrister's instructions are called a
brief it is folded in a particular way and tied up with pink ribbon.
Oddly, barristers do not use brief-cases.
Bowing
Barristers never enter or leave a court room without bowing to the judge.
It is said that it is not the judge they are bowing to but the 'presence' of the
Queen. More realistically it is greeting. Certainly, a barrister never bows when
entering an empty courtroom.
Dignifying the judge
Also, barristers never leave a courtroom if it means the judge would be left
on his own, always one barrister remains, this is called "dressing the judge".
It is interesting to note that barristers never carry briefcases, although
their written instructions are called briefs.
Mode of address
Solicitors, policemen and court staff refer to magistrates as "Your
Worships", barristers use the term of address, "Sir" or "Madam".
Barristers refer to each other as "My Learned Friend" and refer to solicitors
as "My Friend".
Barristers robing and discussing
cases
Barristers are provided with a 'robing
room' in court buildings, cases are often settled here.
To a stranger it is disturbing to
hear these settlements, barristers will often use the phrase "I" and not "my
client", so the conversation will perhaps be "I took the property, but I was not
stealing it, I intended to return it", it sounds even worse if they are deciding
legal issues of rape.
Queen's Counsel privileges
Queen's Counsel (QC's) sit nearest to
the judge, junior barristers sit behind them and solicitors behind the juniors.
QC's are allowed to use a lectern, a
junior using a lectern is frowned upon. Many QC's provide their own hand
made lecterns.
QC's always address the judge before
junior counsel.
Judges attire
The ceremonial costume worn by High
Court judges date from the time of Edward III (1327-77).
Judicial attire is complicated as illustrated by this:
"Court Dress - Consultation Paper issued on behalf of the Lord Chancellor and
the Lord Chief Justice" (August 1992): When sitting in the Court of Appeal
(Criminal Division), High Court judges, like other members of the Court of
Appeal, wear a black silk gown and a short wig, as they do in Divisional Court.
When dealing with criminal business at first instance in the winter, a High
Court judge wears the scarlet robe of the ceremonial dress but without the
scarlet cloth and fur mantle. When dealing with criminal business in the summer,
the judge wears a similar scarlet robe, but with silk rather than fur facings. A
Queen's Bench judge trying civil cases in winter wears a black robe faced with
fur, a black scarf and girdle and a scarlet tippet; in summer, a violet robe
faced with silk, with the black scarf and girdle and scarlet tippet. On red
letter days (which include the Sovereign's birthday and certain saint's days)
all judges wear the scarlet robe for the appropriate season."
The Battle to Get Rid of Wigs
1624 Louis XIII went
prematurely bald. He disguised this with a wig and started a fashion which
became almost universal for European upper & middle class men by the beginning
of the 18th Century.
