Black Cap
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
It is a vulgar error that the headdress worn by the judge in pronouncing the sentence of death is assumed as an emblem of the sentence., It is part of the judicial full dress, and is worn by the judges on occasions of especial state.
Wharton.