# Is it actually required to dress like a cartoon character to practice before English courts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 18, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771 "2017-12-18T16:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/1 "2017-12-18T16:41:37Z")
Or can you just wear a suit like a normal person? Also, do they wear foppish powdered wigs in Scotland too? Seems like they would have less affinity for that kind of idiocy. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/2 "2017-12-18T16:51:13Z")
they still wear them [Why Do British Lawyers Still Wear Wigs? | HowStuffWorks](https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/national-traditions/why-british-lawyers-barristers-wear-wigs.htm) ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/3 "2017-12-18T16:52:50Z")
If you wear beach shorts, a Hawaiian short, and flip flops to an American court, the _judge_ is going to perceive this as disrespect. If you’re one of the attorneys in the matter, he or she possibly more likely to rule against you, or have the bailiff remove you until you are attired properly for his courtroom. So the dress code is about respecting the judge. Those powdered wigs are a sign of respect to Her Majesty’s representative, the judge. He or she doesn’t have to throw you out if you wear a nice suit instead, or be biased against you, but it’s one of those things where if the judge _is_ biased they won’t admit it, so… ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/4 "2017-12-18T16:53:46Z")
my link says they are not required now for civil cases but they remain for criminal cases ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/5 "2017-12-18T16:54:03Z")
The whole wig thing is gradually being phased out. Supreme Court justices wear no legal dress anyway and the relaxed dress code also applies to advocates appearing before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Judges and lawyers appearing in criminal courts still wear traditional wigs and gowns but they can be dispensed with in cases involving children. They seem to be working towards dispensing with the “fancy dress” from the top down, but my impression is that the lawyers themselves are reluctant to lose the uniform that distinguishes them from common mortals. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/6 "2017-12-18T17:06:39Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Also, do they wear foppish powdered wigs in Scotland too? Seems like they would have less affinity for that kind of idiocy. Say [what](http://c8.alamy.com/comp/AE8B2D/56-year-old-scotsman-wearing-kilt-in-his-back-garden-uk-AE8B2D.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/7 "2017-12-18T17:30:59Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Say [what](http://c8.alamy.com/comp/AE8B2D/56-year-old-scotsman-wearing-kilt-in-his-back-garden-uk-AE8B2D.jpg)? Not seeing anything foppish there. No wig, and the kilt is a garment of mighty warriors. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/8 "2017-12-18T17:55:45Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Not seeing anything foppish there. No wig, and the kilt is a garment of mighty warriors. Like [these two?](https://goo.gl/images/KzwQ8i) ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/9 "2017-12-18T19:13:21Z")
I like the wigs, personally. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/10 "2017-12-18T19:34:04Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > I like the wigs, personally. > Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Never had to wear one have you? Criminal Courts. Magistrates. No wig gown Crown Court: Wig and Gown Court of Appeal: Wig and gown UK SC: Business suit. Civil Courts County Courts: Business Suit High Court: Depends on the division, but usually a gown sometimes both. Business suit in the Family Division Court of Appeal: Gown only UK SC: Business suit ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/11 "2017-12-18T19:55:16Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Is it actually required to dress like a cartoon character to practice before English courts? (post shortened) I believe it’s the other way around. Cartoonists choose to dress their cartoon characters as English court judges and barrister. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/12 "2017-12-18T20:02:18Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Not seeing anything foppish there. No wig, and the kilt is a garment of mighty warriors. Can you name a mighty warrior who fought in a kilt? ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/13 "2017-12-18T20:13:39Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Not seeing anything foppish there. No wig, and the kilt is a garment of mighty warriors. Nothing wrong with a kilt by itself, but wearing a tie of the same material and pattern as the suit is one of my only “fashion don’ts”. Unless you think David S. Pumpkins is a style icon. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/14 "2017-12-18T20:26:50Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Not seeing anything foppish there. No wig, and the kilt is a garment of mighty warriors. The small kilt didnt come around until the 1700’s. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/15 "2017-12-18T20:27:37Z")
> [@Whiskey\_Dickens](#): > > Can you name a mighty warrior who fought in a kilt? William “Bill” Millin on Sword Beach, at the Normany landing on D-day. _Millin, whom Lovat had appointed his personal piper during commando training at Achnacarry, near Fort William in Scotland, was the only man during the landing who wore a kilt – it was the same Cameron tartan kilt his father had worn in Flanders during World War I – and he was armed only with his pipes and the sgian-dubh, or “black knife”, sheathed inside his kilt-hose on the right side. In keeping with Scottish tradition, he wore no underwear beneath the kilt. He later told author Peter Caddick-Adams that the coldness of the water took his breath away._ > **[Bill Millin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Millin)** > > William Millin (July 14, 1922 – August 18, 2010), commonly known as Piper Bill, was a Canadian born, Scottish bagpiper, and was personal piper to Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, commander of the British 1 Special Service Brigade at D-Day. > Millin was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, on July 14, 1922, to a Scottish parents, his father moved the family to the Prairies, but returned to Glasgow as a policeman when William was three. He grew up and went to school in the Shettleston area of the city. ... ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/16 "2017-12-18T20:38:56Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > William “Bill” Millin on Sword Beach, at the Normany landing on D-day. > > _Millin, whom Lovat had appointed his personal piper during commando training at Achnacarry, near Fort William in Scotland, was the only man during the landing who wore a kilt – it was the same Cameron tartan kilt his father had worn in Flanders during World War I – and he was armed only with his pipes and the sgian-dubh, or “black knife”, sheathed inside his kilt-hose on the right side. In keeping with Scottish tradition, he wore no underwear beneath the kilt. He later told author Peter Caddick-Adams that the coldness of the water took his breath away._ > > [Bill Millin - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Millin) Huh, 20th century. It’s my belief that the myth of kilt as a mighty battle garment is a modern invention. /End hijack 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/17 "2017-12-18T20:42:50Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > William “Bill” Millin on Sword Beach, at the Normany landing on D-day. > > _Millin, whom Lovat had appointed his personal piper during commando training at Achnacarry, near Fort William in Scotland, was the only man during the landing who wore a kilt – it was the same Cameron tartan kilt his father had worn in Flanders during World War I – and he was armed only with his pipes and the sgian-dubh, or “black knife”, sheathed inside his kilt-hose on the right side. In keeping with Scottish tradition, he wore no underwear beneath the kilt. He later told author Peter Caddick-Adams that the coldness of the water took his breath away._ > > [Bill Millin - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Millin) I kind of think a ‘mighty warrior’ needs to be armed and fight the enemy. So I guess whether you consider him to count as one would depend on whether you think the bagpipes are a weapon… ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/18 "2017-12-18T20:54:21Z")
Bagpipes are considered an instrument of war… ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/19 "2017-12-18T21:46:44Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > If you wear beach shorts, a Hawaiian short, and flip flops to an American court, the _judge_ is going to perceive this as disrespect. If you’re one of the attorneys in the matter, he or she possibly more likely to rule against you, or have the bailiff remove you until you are attired properly for his courtroom. > > So the dress code is about respecting the judge. Those powdered wigs are a sign of respect to Her Majesty’s representative, the judge. He or she doesn’t have to throw you out if you wear a nice suit instead, or be biased against you, but it’s one of those things where if the judge _is_ biased they won’t admit it, so… [Obligatory clip.](https://youtu.be/1cYgyqA_7BM) ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771/20 "2017-12-18T22:26:44Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Bagpipes are considered an instrument of war… …crime. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-actually-required-to-dress-like-a-cartoon-character-to-practice-before-english-courts/804771.md?page=2)