Judges’ Wigs Are Used for Intimidating People法官的假发是用来吓人的

A centuries-old tradition of wearing a white horse-hair wig in court ended for many judges when a simpler new dress code came into force.

当一项更为简便的新着装规范开始实行时，对许多法官而言，延续数百年在法庭上戴白色马尾假发的传统就此结束了。

While judges in criminal cases will still wear them， those in civil and family hearings will appear bare-headed in court， wearing a new-style plain black robe， the British government said.

英国政府称，审理刑事案件的法官仍将戴假发，而那些民事案件和家庭听证案的法官将不戴假发出庭，只穿一种简单的新式黑袍。

After a long debate， the Lord Chief Justice， Lord Philips， head of the judiciary in England and Wales， finally ordered the changes in an attempt to modernize the courts.

在长时间的辩论之后，英国高等法院王座庭庭长菲利普斯勋爵——英格兰和威尔士的最高司法长官——最终下令做出这些改变，以使法庭现代化。

Wigs have been a symbol of the British legal system since the 17th century when the fashion for wearing them in wider society filtered through to the courts. For hundreds of years before the reign of Charles II， judges and lawyers were expected to come to court with short hair and a beard.

自17世纪以来，戴假发的社会风尚蔓延到法庭上之后，假发就成了英国司法体系的一个标志。在查理二世统治之前的数百年间，法官和律师都要留着短发和胡须出庭。

The decision to abandon wigs has dismayed traditionalists who argue that they give judges an air of authority and impartiality. The degree of anonymity that wigs provided could also protect them from angry members of the public. John Mortimer， the barrister and author of the Rumpole of the Bailey books， opposed the changes. “The ideas ridiculous！ A barrister without his wig would be like a doctor without a stethoscope，” he wrote in a newspaper article when the changes were first proposed.

抛弃假发的决定令传统人士十分沮丧，他们坚称假发使法官显得权威而公正。而假发提供的无个性特征的程度，也使法官们免受某些愤怒群众的骚扰。《法庭上的鲁波尔》系列图书的作者、律师约翰·莫蒂默反对这些改变。当这些改变首次被提出时，他在报纸上撰文写道，“这主意简直荒谬！不戴假发的律师就如同不带听诊器的医生。”

However， modernists argue that wigs are a hangover from the past that could intimidate people in court. In a newspaper interview， Lord Phillips described wigs as an anachronism that gave the public a false impression of judges.

然而，現代主义者认为假发是过去的遗留，是用来恫吓出庭人的。在接受某报采访时，菲利普斯勋爵说，假发是件不合时宜之物，它导致公众对法官形成错误的印象。

A Ministry of Justice survey found 70 percent of court workers wanted to keep wigs， compared to 42 percent of the public.

司法部的调查显示，70％的法庭工作人员想保留假发，相比之下只有42％的公众这么想。

Word Bank

reign /re?n/ n. 君主统治时期

abandon /?'b?nd?n/ v. 中止；放弃；不再有

She abandoned hope of any reconciliation.

ridiculous /r?'d?kj?l?s/ adj. 愚蠢的；荒谬的；荒唐的

I look ridiculous in this hat.

intimidate /?n't?m?de?t/ v. 恐吓；威胁