James Earle Fraser was selected by the United States Supreme Court Building Commission to sculpt two statues beside the front steps of the Supreme Court Building. The companion statues of a male and female figure are titled Authority of Law and Contemplation of Justice, respectively.
Also called the Guardian or Executor of Law, Fraser described the male figure to the right of the steps as "powerful, erect, and vigilant." He waits with concentrated attention, holding in his left hand the tablet of laws, backed by the sheathed sword, symbolic of enforcement through law." The Latin word for law, LEX, is inscribed on the tablet.