The Supreme Court does not have one Lady Justice statue. The Lady Justice statue at the Supreme Court is really a program of more than a dozen justice figures spread across the building’s steps, pediments, and courtroom walls, and the two most famous of them, the massive seated marble figures that flank the front steps, break deliberately from the blindfolded Lady Justice most Americans picture. Architect Cass Gilbert designed the 1935 building on classical Roman temple lines, and the sculptors he worked with drew on Greek and Roman sources where Justice kept her eyes open.
Here is what each of the major figures is, what she carries, and why she looks the way she does.
The Two Figures on the Front Steps
The statues most visitors photograph and call “Lady Justice” are a matched pair by sculptor James Earle Fraser, installed in 1935 about a month after the building opened. They sit on nearly fifty-ton marble blocks on either side of the grand front staircase.
On the north side is the Contemplation of Justice, a seated female figure. Fraser described her as “a realistic conception of what I consider a heroic type of person with a head and body expressive of the beauty and intelligence of justice.” Her left arm rests on a book of laws. In her right hand she holds a small figure of a blindfolded Justice. That detail is easy to miss from the sidewalk, and it is the key to the whole composition: the large, clear-eyed figure contemplates the law while cradling the classical blindfolded version in her palm.
On the south side is the Authority of Law, a male counterpart Fraser called “erect and vigilant.” He holds a tablet inscribed with the Latin word LEX, meaning law, and behind the tablet is a sheathed sword. The pair were designed to work together: one figure for thoughtful deliberation, the other for the power to carry decisions out.
Why She Is Not Blindfolded
This is the detail that surprises most visitors. The blindfolded Lady Justice familiar from local courthouses traces to Renaissance-era European art. The Supreme Court’s designers reached back further, to classical Greek and Roman depictions in which Justice’s eyes are open.
The choice carries a real argument. A blindfold suggests impartiality through not seeing who stands before the court. Open eyes suggest something different: that justice requires seeing the facts clearly, weighing evidence, and understanding context before ruling. The Contemplation of Justice makes the point explicit by holding the blindfolded version as a smaller object within the larger, watchful figure.
The courtroom’s west wall frieze pushes the idea further. There, a robed Justice stares directly at the forces of Evil, her hand on the hilt of a sheathed sword, ready to act. She is not detached. She is watchful.
What the Scales, Sword, Book, and Tablet Mean
A handful of objects recur across the building’s justice figures, and each carries a specific meaning.
- The scales represent the weighing of arguments and evidence. They appear in the lap of Liberty Enthroned on the West Pediment, on the shield of Statecraft inside the courtroom, and in the hand of Divine Inspiration on the west wall frieze.
- The sword, almost always sheathed, represents the Court’s authority to enforce its rulings. Authority of Law holds one on the front steps; the courtroom’s Justice leans on one as she faces Evil.
- The book of laws under the Contemplation of Justice’s arm represents the written body of law she considers.
- The tablet held by Authority of Law carries the single word LEX, Latin for law, naming what the figure’s power is grounded in.
The consistent thread is that the Court’s imagery favors watchful judgment backed by enforceable authority, rather than passive, blindfolded impartiality.
Liberty Enthroned and “Equal Justice Under Law”
Above the front entrance, carved into the triangular West Pediment, are nine figures by sculptor Robert Aitken, worked from rough-hewn Vermont marble. The central figure is Liberty Enthroned, holding the scales of justice across her lap and gazing into the future. She is flanked by Order on her right and Authority on her left, with paired figures of Council and Research further out, representing past and present. Cass Gilbert gave Aitken wide creative freedom, instructing only that the work “be worthy of the great Supreme Court.”
Below the pediment, carved into the architrave, is the inscription “Equal Justice Under Law.” The phrase was submitted by Cass Gilbert’s firm and approved in 1932 by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes and the Supreme Court Building Commission. No historical source for the words has ever been identified. It does not come from the Constitution or from any known earlier legal text, and it has nonetheless become one of the most recognized mottos in American law.
Justice Inside the Courtroom
Inside the courtroom, sculptor Adolph A. Weinman designed four marble friezes along the upper walls. The west wall frieze, at the back of the courtroom, is the one that most clearly answers the “Lady Justice” question for the interior.
Its central figure is Divine Inspiration, holding the scales. To her left stands Justice herself, leaning on a sheathed sword and looking directly at the forces of Evil on the opposite side of the composition. Behind Justice are the Powers of Good. Two seated figures complete the group: Wisdom, with an owl on his shoulder, and Truth, holding a mirror and a rose.
The east wall frieze, above the bench where the Justices sit, is more structural than narrative. Two seated figures, the Majesty of Law and the Power of Government, flank a pylon inscribed with the Roman numerals I through X for the first ten amendments. Beside them are Wisdom, holding a lantern, and Statecraft, whose shield carries the scales of justice. The surrounding figures represent the protection of human rights and liberties.1Supreme Court of the United States. Courtroom Friezes: South and North Walls
Seeing the Statues in Person
The exterior statues, including both Fraser figures and the West Pediment, can be viewed from the plaza any time. The building itself is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with free admission. It closes weekends and federal holidays, and access can shift with the Court’s schedule, so checking the “Today at the Court” section of the Court’s homepage before visiting is worthwhile.2Supreme Court of the United States. Visiting the Court
Non-flash photography for personal use is allowed in public areas of the ground and first floors, so the exterior statues and the Great Hall can be photographed freely. Photography and recording of any kind are prohibited inside the courtroom at any time, which means the Weinman friezes cannot be photographed. Touching the John Marshall statue, portraits, busts, and other artifacts is prohibited because skin oils damage the surfaces.3Supreme Court of the United States. Visitor Guidelines
Security screening is required to enter the building. Food and beverages are not allowed inside, though empty water bottles are permitted, and bags cannot exceed 18 by 14 by 8.5 inches.4Supreme Court of the United States. Prohibited Items