Sunday, July 15, 2007

UK Civil Judges and Lawyers Lose Wigs!


In England and Wales, the Lord Chief Justice has announced that civil judges will no longer wear wigs, and their gowns will be in a new, simpler design. Advocates will also stop wearing "wigs, wing collars and bands." U.K. Civil Judges End Tradition Of White Wigs, AHN, July 15, 2007.

The Judiciary of England and Wales press release is here.

For the history of the wig thing, see Charles M. Yablon, Wigs, Coifs, and Other Idiosyncracies of English Judicial Attire, Cardozo Life, Spring 1999.

Thanks: Maureen Howard.

Photo of current dress for high court judge from Court Working Dress in England and Wales (A Lord Chancellor's Department Consultation Paper) Annex D, May 2003.

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