While the west pediment of the Supreme Court Building is well-known for its inscription “Equal Justice Under Law,” the east pediment holds its own significant, yet less familiar, phrase: “Justice the Guardian of Liberty.” The origins of these inscriptions date back to the early 1930s, during the construction of the Supreme Court Building designed by architect Cass Gilbert. The responsibility for these inscriptions lay not in history’s legal or philosophical texts, but rather in the hands of Gilbert’s architectural firm. Notably, the firm introduced the phrase “Equal Justice Under Law” in a drawing dated July 7, 1931 (source).
Initially, the firm considered using placeholders like “LEX ET JUSTITIA” (translated as “Law and Justice”) and “EQUAL AND EXACT JUSTICE,” inspired by President Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address (source). However, these drafts were set aside in favor of the eventual inscriptions. The phrase “Justice the Guardian of Liberty” on the east pediment wasn’t originally intended to be there. The foremost proposal was “Equal Justice is the Foundation of Liberty,” but it was rejected by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes. In a May 16, 1932 note, Hughes communicated with Justice Willis Van Devanter, suggesting “Justice the Guardian of Liberty,” a preference Van Devanter accepted with a simple confirmation (source).
Chief Justice Hughes decided that both inscriptions should be in English to ensure public accessibility, foregoing any Latin expression (source). These inscriptions, completed just before the building’s finalization in 1935, have since become emblematic, representing the principles of democracy and the rule of law in the United States (source).
More insights into the historical context and decisions behind these iconic inscriptions are available in the original article from SCOTUSblog.