Ballin described his murals in a pamphlet published in 1913:
"Justice is a female figure looking straight forward. In her left hand is a sword, in her right the decalogue. The child is symbolic of purity. In the background are the roof top of a small cottage and the facade of a palace of justice. The ball of light is symbolical of wisdom."

On the ceiling surrounding the "Spirit of Wisconsin," Ballin depicted six "attributes" of the state: Invention, Charity, Pioneering, Justice (shown above), Religion, and the Arts. Like the "Spirit of Wisconsin," each was painted as a beautiful woman in a pose that communicated the "spirit" she symbolized. "Pioneering" was depicted as a young woman looking forward into the dawn, echoing Daniel Chester French's sculpture on the top of the dome. The allegorical representation in the "Spirit of Justice," however, contrasted sharply from the murals that Albert Herter painted for the Supreme Court Hearing Room, which offered four historical portraits of the evolution of the law, featuring "real" scenes from the Roman Court, the signings of the Magna Carta and the American Constitution, and a well-known episode in Wisconsin's history in which Judge Doty recognized Indian sovereignty in the murder trial of Chief Oshkosh. Ballin instead chose a more classical way of representing Justice - as a virtuous woman seated in front of a "palace of justice."

Image from "Mural Paintings by Hugo Ballin in the Executive Chamber State Capitol Building Madison Wisconsin" (New York, 1913)

Ballin's quotation appears in his pamphlet, "Mural Paintings in the Executive Chamber, State Capitol Building Madison, Wisconsin," (New York: 1913).

Details on the ceiling appear in The International Studio vol. 51, no. 204 (Feb., 1914)