Blind Justice
It's a well-known fact that Justice is blind. But it's sometimes more than just a "well-known fact": Some works feature actually blind characters working for truth, justice and the American way; others reference the saying in another way.
Examples of Blind Justice include:
Blind (or blindfolded) character examples:
Comic Books
- Daredevil: Blind superhero
- The fact that no one ever sees Judge Dredd's eyes through his helmet's dark visor is supposed to be a reference to this.
Literature
- Max Carrados: Blind detective created by Ernest Bramah.
- Parodied in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The judges insist that everyone in the courtroom wears blindfolds so that justice will be literally blind. They're evil, and using this to cover their kidnapping/escape.
- Inverted in The Republic Of Trees, where the group's "lawgiver" is Blind Without Them. She lampshades the trope but the group still implements her laws, with disastrous results.
- Baynard Kendrick's blind detective Captain Duncan Maclain (an Army captain blinded in WWI who turned investigator).
- In Belisarius Series the blind former Emperor Justinian takes as his assignment to codify the laws. He is also inspired by a vision of the image of justice as being blind in the future.
Live Action TV
- Max Carrados, blind detective, made an appearance in the 1971 series The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes.
- In the Arrested Development episode "Justice Is Blind", Maggie Lizer, blind lawyer is revealed to not be blind, but using it for sympathy from judges and juries. Her seeing-eye dog Justice is blind, however.
- Blind Justice, TV series from 2005. A Police Procedural about a detective who is blinded in the line of duty and returns to the force.
Manga & Anime
- Bleach: Played straight with Tosen. He's blind and strives for justice, but joins with Aizen because, although he thinks he has a clear view of justice, he's blinded by his desire for revenge. Thanks to the specific autocratic nature of the Central 46, a shinigami who killed his wife over something trivial became a Karma Houdini. Since that wife was a very close friend of Tousen's, he didn't take it well and swore to uphold justice in her name and by her sword. He obtained his justice against the Central 46 by supporting Aizen's move to kill them all and leaving with Aizen to join the enemy the shinigami existed to fight. He left behind two people who vowed to open his eyes to true justice. They did.
Music
- In Alice's Restaurant, there's a judge with a seeing-eye dog, and the narrator makes a joke about "typical American blind justice".
Film
- In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the character Justice wears glasses.
Video Games
- Mortal Kombat: Kenshi starts out as something of a subversion, being blinded thanks to letting Shang Tsung manipulate him (an Arrogant Kung Fu Guy before the series started) into opening a tomb belonging to the souls of his ancestors and then going on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge after the sorcerer. Over time, he mellows out into a lone vigilante of sorts who hunts down corrupt criminal organizations at night. Seeing as he's a partial homage to Daredevil, one of Kenshi's combos from Deadly Alliance, Deception, and Armageddon is named "Blind Justice".
- BlazBlue: Tsubaki Yayoi plays with this. She has a bit of an overexaggerated sense of justice due to being a fangirl of historical dramas. While she means well, she's also loyal to the NOL, which has tasked her with the execution of Jin (her crush) and Noel (her friend). Additionally, her Ars Armagus Izayoi "steals the light from the user's eyes," which will eventually cause Tsubaki to go blind. As of the end of Continuum Shift, Tsubaki has also made a Face Heel Turn due to Hazama spoon-feeding her half-truths about Noel stealing Tsubaki's place as Jin's secretary in the current timeline (he intentionally left out that the Jin of that timeline--who went on to become Hakumen--still neglected Tsubaki and Tsubaki ultimately died Taking the Bullet for Jin), which brings out Tsubaki's darker side.
- In Freedom Force, the "Law" half of the superhero duo Law and Order is dressed exactly like Lady Justice, complete with sword and blindfold. She is also truly blind, having lost her sight in a car bomb explosion before gaining superpowers.
Web Original
- The Mask of Justice from the Global Guardians PBEM Universe had an opaque mask with the scales of justice on it to reference this. Mind you, he had Blindfolded Vision.
Web Comics
- Homestuck: Terezi Pyrope and her ancestor Redglare, blind (aspiring) legislacerators.
Real Life
- Chinese civil rights activist Chen Guangcheng is a blind lawyer.
Other examples:
- The Fugitive describes Dr Richard Kimble as "an innocent victim of blind justice" from the second season onwards.
- Phoenix Wright: the Musical features the Villain Song "Justice is Blind (and I Will Guide Her)".
- On The Simpsons there's a statue of a little girl with a blindfold on a la the Justice statue standing in front of the Family Court building.
- Judge Dredd. When Dredd meets former Chief Justice Fargo in the Cursed Earth, there's a statue of Blind Justice in the room.
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Dredd: The blind lady. Who is she? |
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