Why Eyes? Cautionary Tales from Law's Blindfolded Justice

Abstract

For thousands of years, in many parts of the world, sight was valorized, and obscured vision equated with disability, vice, and caprice. More recently, blindfolds have become emblematic of impartial judging, freed from bias. This chapter analyzes the political, technological, and social movements that have supported the shifting appraisals of the blindfold’s import and utilities. The lessons from law are that blindfolds provide no panacea for the challenges of rendering fair judgment.

Keywords: justice, bias, discrimination, judging, veil of ignorance, color-blind, blindfold, virtues, social movements, culture