Soccer Dad

Not getting wiggy with it

There is an argument in England.

There are the traditionalists:

Little said many young lawyers like the wigs because they serve as a "leveler" against those who have much more experience. The profession should focus on "more important issues" such as legal aid for poor defendants, he said, rather than worrying about wigs. "Just because something is old, you shouldn't get rid of it. If that were the case, we would knock down all our old buildings."

On the other side:

The wigs are drawing increasing criticism from lawyers who say they are as quaint and outdated as quill pens or suits of armor. As the country's legal system undergoes a raft of changes -- including the creation of a Supreme Court modeled after the U.S. high court -- the call to cast off wigs is growing louder in courtroom hallways and lawyers' chambers.

The history according to the Washington Post is that once upon a time the learned and well-to-do members of society wore the powdered wigs as a sign of their status. Eventually it stopped being fashionable among society in general, but in the courts, the tradition continues.

And it's not simply an English eccentricity, it's an expensive one.

As the debate continues, so does the traditional craft of turning horsehair into a headpiece by hand. Ede and Ravenscroft, a company dating to 1689, sells the typical "bar wig" for more than $800. The more elaborate "bench wig" for high court judges, with hair teased high in front, can cost $2,000, while the ceremonial "full-bottom wig," with long curls reaching to the shoulders, goes for more than $4,000.

"I had to take a bank loan out to get my wig and gown," said Kirsty Brimelow, a criminal lawyer in London who thinks it's time to toss off the wigs.

I'm guessing that this tradition will fall by the wayside in a decade or so. The article reports that the English public is divided on the issue. I agree with sentiment

"If you were to make a significant decision to get rid of them, I would like to see overwhelming public support for their abolition," said Tom Little, chairman of the Young Barristers Committee of the Bar Council.

Once public opinion is more solidly behind the change, the wigs will go.

Technorati tags: powdered wigs, English legal system, England.

Posted by SoccerDad at April 5, 2006 6:52 AM