Good wigging
Sir: Mr Ludovic Kennedy's considered assessment (Books, 10 October) that Brit- ish judges should discard their wigs, suc- cumb to garrulous media appearances and indeed televise their court cases can be explained only by madness or treason. As an American not yet fully recovered from observing the legal scholars, I can only read with dismay Mr Kennedy's depreca- tion of Lord Kilmuir's wise injunction: `So long as a judge keeps silent his reputation for wisdom and impartiality remains un- assailable.'
As a former trial lawyer I appreciate the hours of pleasurable entertainment Mr Kennedy has enjoyed in court. But as a concerned citizen I am adamant that such pleasures be reserved for those who have the energy and time actually to attend court. Judicial authority, a necessary com- ponent of any democratic system, is ex- tremely sensitive to light and may readily
dissolve under exposure to the Klieg lights of media scrutiny.
To encourage the general public to haggle ignorantly over judicial decisions is folly. British judges: keep your wigs tight on your heads, bring the hammer of justice down hard on any who would peek under your robes, add incense and candles, bar the doors, maintain a lofty and mysterious justice.
Anthony Barker Senior Legal Policy Analyst, The White House, Washington DC
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