Wiggin' Out in Lewes

I accompanied my barrister to Lewes yet again this week. H came along, as her barrister's case is just not that interesting. Not only did we have an interesting day observing in court, but we also got to do something completely unexpected.

We were expecting to hear the Crown (what they call the prosecution/government here) cross examine the defendant, but it wasn't to be. I cannot lay out all the details, but basically everyone (the Crown, the defense, the Judge) was painted into a legal and ethical corner. After hearing arguments from both sides (which included quite a bit of bickering, much to our amusement), the judge ordered a re-trial to insure the defendant a fair trial and to avoid a sure-fire point for appeal if he was convicted. The jurors looked completely devastated, having served on the jury for over two weeks (including a site visit the week before). It was funny to think back to my first day in Lewes, when they looked shocked to learn they would be hearing a murder trial.

So quite dramatically, the case in Lewes ended (for now), but the best part was yet to come. The head barrister for the defense suggested we ask to see the judge. We were a bit nervous about asking, but the judge agreed to see us in his chambers. I had been impressed with the judge during our time in court, and he was incredibly nice in person. We chatted about exactly what transpired that day in court in greater detail for a while, and then I asked about his garb. (Our professor wasn't sure exactly what the different sashes meant so I thought I'd find out myself.) As he was explaining, he showed us his ceremonial wig (as opposed to his everyday wig). Then we had an exchange that went something like this...

Judge, as he lays out the wig for us to see: "It's too bad you don't have a camera."

Rachel (blurting out excitedly): "But I do have a camera!"

(You see, I had brought my camera along to Lewes to get some pictures (I've uploaded a few to Flickr) of the town on a nice day (the last two Mondays have been so dreary). I had taken some pictures over the lunch hour and accidentally left the camera in my suit pocket.)

But we didn't take any pictures at that moment. I figured he never intended to take pictures at all. So we continued to chat about various things (how he came to be a judge, his friend who serves as a federal judge in MI, etc.) for 10 more minutes, and then he insisted we take pictures WHILE WEARING HIS FANCY WIG.

I couldn't believe it. H couldn't either. But here we are in all our wiggified glory (H's posted with permission):





When we left, the Judge told us to e-mail him with any questions. I think we will e-mail him with our thanks and perhaps attach the pictures. Emma, Jonathan, and Sandra (the solicitor) thought it was great fun when we showed them the pictures, and I admit the whole thing put us in a bit of a silly mood. Our externship professor was so tickled when we showed her today that she wants me to put in the program brochure and frame them for her office.

Thus ends the tale of Lewes.