Peter Cooper believed that
public engagement was essential to a thriving
democracy and designed a
space within the Foundation Building
as a forum to do so: the Great Hall.
By mapping the remarkable run of the icon of Justice, a woman with scales and sword, and by tracing the development of
public spaces dedicated to justice — courthouses — the authors explore the evolution of adjudication into its modern form
as well
as the intimate relationship between the courts and
democracy.