Fiat justitia ruat caelum

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Fiat justitia ruat caelum is a Latin legal phrase, translating to "let justice be done, though the heavens fall." The maxim signifies the belief that justice must be realized even if the powerful are brought low and the foundations of the state are shaken. Attributed first to Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus (the father-in-law of Julius Caesar), it was popularized by William Murray, 1st Baron Mansfield's decision in 1772 on the James Somersett case that led to abolition of slavery in England.

The phrase is engraved on the wall behind the bench in the Supreme Court of Georgia and over the lintel of the Bridewell Garda station in Dublin. "Fiat Justitia" appears at the bottom of the portrait of the Great Chief Justice John Marshall by Rembrandt Peale. Peale's 1835 portrait of Marshall hangs in a conference room at the United States Supreme Court.

This is also the Moto of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force Police and it displayed on the RAF Police Crest. See also the RAF Police Association web site www.rafpa.com

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