Who is Lady Justice?

“Fairness,” said artist Ruben Ubiera, of his mural outside the Tamarac branch of the Broward Sheriff’s Office. “Hopefully, that’s the only thing that can come across.”

Lady Justice, the Roman goddess of Justice, also known by her Latin name Justitia, was a goddess of harmony and order in ancient Egypt and a wife and counselor to Zeus in Greece.

She figured into closing remarks during a recent Republican presidential debate, when GOP candidate Carly Fiorina said Lady Justice’s scale signifies that all are “equal in the eyes of God.”

Her visual depictions vary; sometimes, she’s modestly dressed in a long, flowing robe; she’s usually blindfolded, holding a sword and balancing the scales of justice.

Ubiera’s mural shows Lady Justice blindfolded, holding a scale in each hand, but no sword, and somewhat immodest with bare arms and a V-neck. His Lady Justice includes some subtle symbols: asterisks for unity, circles for tolerance, and doves flying away freely.

Still, regardless of varying visual depictions, Ubiera says his mural can only represent fairness.

“Not even freedom,” he said. “We’re talking about justice, poetic justice, things working out for the person.”