What word means fair and impartial?

The word that means fair and impartial, on the USCIS reading vocabulary list, is Just. Just, as an adjective, means in accordance with what is morally right, fair, or lawful. The word appears at several pivotal points in U.S. civic life.

The Preamble to the Constitution lists "establish Justice" as one of the federal government’s six core purposes, and the Fourteenth Amendment requires that no state deny any person the equal protection of the laws or deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, both phrases that embody the idea of just treatment by government. The Fifth Amendment imposes the same due-process requirement on the federal government.

The Pledge of Allegiance, codified at 4 U.S.C. section 4, ends with "liberty and justice for all," pairing two of the most important values in American constitutional thought. The Declaration of Independence describes the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as foundations for governments that derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, linking the legitimacy of government to its just conduct toward citizens.

In the criminal justice system the word just is reflected in the right to a fair trial guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment: an impartial jury, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to counsel are procedural elements of a just process. The motto of the U.S. Department of Justice, "Qui Pro Domina Justitia Sequitur," translates roughly as "Who prosecutes on behalf of Lady Justice."

On the reading test Just may appear in sentences about fairness, courts, or government, though it is a relatively short word that may be tested in combinations like "a just law."