Wigging Out

An interesting article on why British lawyers and judges wear wigs.

The late Lord Taylor of Gosforth, when he was head of the criminal division of England's courts, observed once that wigs make people look "slightly ridiculous." That was in 1992, the same year that the Commercial Bar Association of England proposed banning wigs from business proceedings in court, prompting a general debate in the House of Lords on the merits of wig-wearing. One member, Lord Richard, griped that wigs were "insanitary, scratchy, and extremely hot." The head of the courts' civil division, known as the Master of the Rolls, allowed that he removed his wig in front of children because it scared them to tears. And the late Earl of Halsbury offered a bit of history, pointing out that wigs came into use because "people were ... getting fed up with lice." Despite this derision, the members agreed that a conclusion could be reached only after an official report was made to the public—and the Queen, who as the sovereign had an interest in the matter. By the time the report was published, however, several polls had made it clear that most of the legal profession and the public wanted barristers as well as judges to hold on to their wigs.

[HT: Wall Street Journal Law Blog]