Why do judges wear black robes?

Since September 2015 (Opinion SC15-497), judges in Florida can only wear black robes in court, and no other color. But it has not always been that way.

Why judges wear black robes

The members of the Florida Supreme Court did not wear any robes at all -- only business suits -- until 1949 when they moved into their first air conditioned building in Tallahassee.

Judges throughout the English-speaking world have worn robes for more than 700 years. It was a custom that began when law was still one of only a few learned professions like medicine, teaching, and preaching.

New college graduates still wear robe-like gowns to signify their mastery of a body of knowledge. But the judges of England and its many colonies often wore very colorful robes and even powdered wigs when they sat to hear cases.

Some historians think that the move toward wearing only black was strengthened in 1694 when the judges of England and its American colonies donned black to mourn the death of Queen Mary II. She had jointly ruled the British nation and its colonies with her husband King William. Some people have joked that the American colonies never stopped mourning for Queen Mary.

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor believes the tradition has come to stand for a much broader principle. “It shows that all of us judges are engaged in upholding the Constitution and the rule of law," O'Connor said.