Lady Justice: Sign of the Law

Is justice impartial, or just foolishly blind? Take a study break with an online exhibit and put the law into perspective. "The Remarkable Run of a Political Icon: Justice as a Sign of the Law" features thirteen pages of images from the 500-year history of an iconic symbol--a woman, draped and holding scales. The exhibit was created by the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale University using volumes from its Rare Book Collection to illustrate the changing image of Justice and what it represented, from its roots in the 15th century through the next 300 years. Enjoy.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Lady Justice: Story of an Icon

Two Yale Law School professors have just published a long-awaited book tracing Lady Justice (with and without blindfold) as both art and symbol throughout the ages and as a presence in courtrooms worldwide. In Representing Justice: Invention, Controversy, and Rights in City-States and Democratic Courtrooms, reviewed earlier this week in a New York Times feature article by Randy Kennedy, professors Judith Resnik and Dennis E. Curtis use of history of the familiar symbol to explain its role in the relationship between democracy and the courts. Explore some of the wonderful images from the book at the Yale Law School Library Document Collection Center site. In February, Hofstra Law Professor Bennett Capers, who has also written on Lady Justice, will speak at a special Yale Law School symposium.




Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat