How is justice served?

Serve is a ditransitive verb: “I served him; I served him dinner.” Dinner is served when it is delivered; and a person is served when food is placed in front of him.

In which sense is justice served in American English? Say for example in the sentence “He was led away for justice to be served” which occurred in an American documentary recently broadcast in the UK? It appeared to mean that he would be served with justice.

Does it primarily mean that the offender receives his just deserts, or that justice is honoured by what happens to the offender?

Meta:

I've tagged this american-english because it seems that using serve with justice is more American than British, particularly when an offender is punished. Brits are more likely to have justice done (“and seen to be done”) or carried out, or even meted out. Those verbs make the usage clear: justice is delivered to the offender. If justice is served in the UK, it could easily mean that a defendant is acquitted (that is, justice is satisfied with a just result).

The CSI episode “Justice is Served” (Season 1, episode 21) played on this dual meaning.

In which sense is justice served in American English?

Why assume it's just one sense?

As you say, we can interpret the phrase as either meaning that justice (in the sense in which it is the maintenance of what is just and right, or the personification thereof) is the recipient of service, or is the thing that is delivered (in the sense in which it is the punishment delivered to the guilty).

It's ambigous in meaning, but those two ambiguous meanings express the same result.

I can find some that seem to clearly mean one or the other:

Chavez executed: 'Justice served for an evil man'

Was justice served in the death of two-year-old Maximus Huyskens?

The former would seem to mean the "justice dished out" sense, the latter the "service rendered to justice" sense.

And I would guess that yours leans toward the sense of "dished out" due to the sentence focusing on the prisoner, but as a set phrase it can not only mean one or the other, but can mean both simultaneously: A speaker need not avoid the ambiguity, since it is ambiguous between expressing two things, both of which they would feel were true, so they can live happily with that ambiguity.

Brits are more likely to have justice done (“and seen to be done”) or carried out, or even meted out. Those verbs make the usage clear: justice is delivered to the offender.

Actually, I'd interpret done and carried out as closer to the other sense, since justice can be done or carried out by acquitting someone wrongfully accused.

I agree with Jon Hanna's postulate that the phrase may have multiple meanings that often complement each other.

However, a straightforward explanation may be found one of the meanings of serve

to give obedience and reverent honor to (God, one's lord, etc.)

This sense seems to transcend the import of a given act and suggests a more karmic alignment.