Who
knew the choices included wool, silk or polyester. Monogrammed, elbow
patches or doctoral sleeve stripes. Blue, green or traditional black.

We're talking judicial robes.

Each judge buys his or her own, and can spend from $150 to more than $500.

Nine new judges will take part in a formal robing ceremony today at the Broward County Courthouse. They've already been presiding over cases, managing dockets. But first, they had to find a robe.

"That's one of the things you don't think about when you run for
judge," said Judge Bernie Bober, elected last November. "They give you
a gizillion different fabrics. You could go snaps, you could go zipper,
you could go Velcro. You could go all these different choices."

Judicial fashion is not just basic black anymore, and a number of Broward's jurists bring some personal panache to the bench.

Judge Kathleen Ireland wears green, of course. Judge Steven Shutter
opts for blue. Judge Peggy Gehl favors the velvet-paneled front and
Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld has a taste for traditional puffy bell sleeves.

Judge Ilona Holmes often accessorizes her robe with a traditional
African kente-cloth stole and Judge Merrilee Ehrlich, one of the
judiciary's newest members, adorns hers with a lacy collar.

But for the majority, tradition reigns.

"I think basic black is the way you have to go," said Judge Dale Ross.
"The reason why you wear robes to begin with is because of tradition,
and the pomp and circumstance of the court. And I think when you wear a
colored robe, you're breaking with tradition. If you're going to break
tradition, why do we even wear them in the first place?"

But for Shutter, there's logic behind his blue robe.

"Black is too severe," he said, adding that in County Court he presides
over small-claims cases and wants litigants at ease. "So I went to
blue, blue being a calmer color, hopefully a more user-friendly color.
I want people to talk to me. I don't want people to be scared."

Ehrlich, in juvenile court, chose the lacy look.

"I thought that the robes were historically very severe and masculine," she said. "I just wanted to give it a softer edge."

Until July 2004, the robe came with the job, but budget constraints changed all that.

It's rather common for a new judge to borrow a robe for his or her first weeks, or even months, on the bench.

County Judge John "Jay" Hurley doesn't know whose robe he's wearing,
and he's been wearing it for six months. It's monogrammed "MDF."

"They say this robe has been floating around the courthouse for about 30 years," Hurley said.

He's still awaiting delivery of his own $195 Coupe de Ville model from
Academic Choir Apparel, a California company that's been in the robe
business since 1946.

It's the place where Judge Lance Ito, of O.J. Simpson trial fame, got
his robe, said Mike Cronan, who runs the company with his wife, Evelyn.

They sell about 1,000 judicial robes a year, with the bulk of their
business coming from graduation gowns and choir robes, Cronan said.

There are just 18,000 to 20,000 judges in the entire country, he said,
"and they probably only replace their robes every 8 to 10 years.
They're inclined to wear them for a long time."

So it seems.

Judge Louis Schiff said he's been wearing the same two robes since he
became judge 12 years ago. One had to be sent out for elbow mending.

But the burning question, the one everyone wants to ask: What does a judge wear underneath?

All insist that, no matter how hot it gets, they wear regular business attire.

"They only go down to your knees," Judge Michael Gates said. "So you
have to have slacks, or something, coming out the bottom there."