ipl-logo

Ethical Dilemmas And Decisions In Criminal Justice

2505 Words11 Pages

When discussing professional ethics, it is critical that the term ethics is understood first and foremost. In the textbook, Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice, the term ethics is defined as the discipline of determining good and evil and defining moral duties (Pollock, 2014, pg. 6). Essentially, ethics are standards that help one to determine what is considered right and wrong and the study of these standards. However, there are several categories of ethics that allow one to approach and apply ethics differently. Specifically, professional ethics is a school of ethics pertaining to the ethical behavior of individuals working within a certain profession or field. While the application of professional ethics is valuable in all …show more content…

Like police officers, prosecutors also have a great amount of discretion that must be exercised cautiously and responsibly in order to ensure ethical standards are not violated. Essentially, prosecutors have the power to decide which cases they will and will not prosecute, that is, which cases will be brought before a judge in order to seek justice. If they do decide to bring a case before a judge to be tried, they must be prepared to properly represent the government by working closely with law enforcement officials, gathering evidence, calling forth witnesses, and other duties to ensure that their case is strong enough to obtain a conviction. However, the amount of power and discretion prosecutors are afforded along with the pressure to win a case can pave the way for prosecutorial misconduct and ethical violations. Perhaps the most well-known form of prosecutorial misconduct is the concealment of exculpatory evidence, otherwise known as evidence that is favorable to the …show more content…

This is because all of these areas of the criminal justice system work in tandem to ensure that the law is enforced, the public is protected from crime, and those who break the law are held accountable for their actions. Notwithstanding how law enforcement works more closely and frequently with members of society, professional ethics in corrections and prosecution are still a significant factor when it comes to the public’s trust in the criminal justice system and its ability to uphold the law. All in all, professional ethics possess a critical role when it comes to ensuring criminal justice practitioners are acting ethically and responsibly, and it is important that professional ethics are incorporated into all criminal justice professions to maintain the integrity and legitimacy of the criminal justice

Show More
Related
993 Words | 4 Pages

Case Summary Part 1 The prosecution is legally bound to disclose to the defense evidence that is favorable to the defendant. Three examples of the prosecutor’s obligations to disclose evidence are Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150 (1972), and United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97 (1976). According to Rule 3.8, “the prosecutor must make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence or information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigates the offense, and, in connection with sentencing, disclose to the defense and to the tribunal all unprivileged mitigating information known to the prosecutor, except when the prosecutor is relieved of this responsibility by

Read More
1240 Words | 5 Pages

Abstract The Code of Ethics by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) serves as a comprehensive guidebook for professional conduct, promoting ideals of integrity, equity, and justice. The manual sets a high standard for the JSO staff, mandating that they treat the public with dignity, respect, and empathy. When law enforcement cooperates with the community to identify and respond to safety issues and criminal activity, it builds trust within the community. The JSO emphasizes equal treatment for everyone, irrespective of traits such as race, gender, or ethnicity.

Read More
1128 Words | 5 Pages

This can range from courtroom misconduct to threatening or tampering with witnesses. According to Center for Prosecutor Integrity (CPI), the most common times of violations done by prosecutors are: “Failure to disclose exculpatory evidence, use of inadmissible or false evidence/lack of candor to the court, plea bargain offense, inflammatory statements/witness harassment, mischaracterizing the evidence, and vouching.” Prosecutors have ethical mandates that they must obey, if not, that is where the misconduct comes in. And act of prosecutorial misconduct will violate both legal and professional codes (prosectorialsaccountabilty.com). Levy, the prosecutor in Krone’s case, helped send and innocent man to dead row for something he did not commit.

Read More
390 Words | 2 Pages

The duty of any criminal prosecutor is to seek justice. A conviction is the end of justice being served prior to sentencing; however justice cannot be served if an innocent person is found guilty. Even though the prosecutor(s) are there to represent the public and has the duty to aggressively pursue offenders for violations of state and federal laws, they shall never lose sight or their own moral compass of their main purpose is to find the truth. In the pursuit of truth, the United States Supreme Court has developed or made rulings in reference to several principles of conduct which have to be followed by all prosecutors to assure that the accused person(s) are allowed the proper procedures and due process of the law granted by the 14th Amendment.

Read More
1008 Words | 5 Pages

Prosecutors must be focused on finding the truth and the facts of the case, not what will look best in

Read More
591 Words | 3 Pages

Prosecutorial misconduct is defined as “The act of breaking the law, court rules, or code of ethics of law practice, while working as a prosecuting attorney” (Legal Dictionary, n.d.). In the case of Brady v. Maryland (1963), Brady was convicted on a murder charged and sentenced to death after the prosecution withheld a statement by Boblit who confessed to the homicide (Justia (2017), Brady v. Maryland). The court in this case held that suppression of this statement by the prosecution was unconstitutional, Supreme Court affirmed stating that due process required the prosecution, when requested, to turn over evidence that would relate to the guilt or innocence of the defense, even if the evidence was in favor of the defense (Justia (2017), Brady v. Maryland). Withholding exculpatory evidence, which has become known as “Brady material” after Brady v. Maryland decision, is just one type of prosecutorial misconduct. Others include, improper argument, improper use of the media, introducing false evidence, discriminating when picking a

Read More
473 Words | 2 Pages

Working in the field of law enforcement and being ethically sound is important. It is important within our professional career that we are able to maintain a standard that doesn’t cross any ethical lines. Even in our academic we have to hold ourselves to an ethical standard, because we are trusted to do what is right. If we violate the academic integrity it put a mark on our ability to be trusted. Just as Dr. Steven Davis stated if someone is will to cheap to get ahead how can they be trusted

Read More
772 Words | 4 Pages

However, both concepts might play a role in either situation. Some individuals question whether or not “ethics” should play a big part in law enforcement. Ethics should play a part in professional standards of conduct because it sets a standard for how individuals should behave. It is very important for police officers and any other individual in the law enforcement field to properly abide by ethical standards.

Read More
995 Words | 4 Pages

Based on the ethical dilemma within my organization, the teleological theory incorporated to the choice of closing cases with negative or positive findings based on the allegation(s) specified to the investigators would make the investigator happy and administration happy. In this case, the ends justifies the means where the outcome of actually closing the cases and meeting “expectations” excuses any wrongs committed to attain it. The wrong that is being done in this scenario would be that law enforcement would close a blind eye to any other fraudulent activities that may be nexus to the case but not the fraudulent crime committed. However, the happiness of the individual depends on the individual investigator or individual public administrator’s ethics and values. In terms of public administration’s goals a whole, the happiness of meeting expectations would certainly not meeting the expectations of the law enforcement code of ethics.

Read More
802 Words | 4 Pages

Discretion has a fairly effective role within the justice system, specifically when looking at the sentencing and punishment of offenders. Discretion can have a distinct effect on the outcome of a case. The role of decision making through an individual may provide for a different insight into different cases which therefore means that no two verdicts are reached in the same way. The role of discretion when looking at charge negotiation (or plea bargaining) is to decide whether or not the accused may be granted a 'lesser ' punishment in exchange, they plead guilty. from prosecutors.

Read More
762 Words | 4 Pages

In the modern day, organized crime and criminals have expanded both their methods of communication and their methods of work. The criminal today uses the advancements in technology faster than law enforcement and the legal system can create properly worded laws that allow law enforcement to implement the same tools themselves, making it much more legally precarious to counter criminal operations. One of the primary reason that law enforcement officials face this dilemma is that law enforcement must constantly adhere to a code of ethics, whereas criminals can and do bypass any of the ethical constraints that potentially limits law enforcement, ultimately using ethics and legal wording or loopholes to their advantage. Criminals currently use

Read More
1279 Words | 6 Pages

Assignment #1 Review questions Chap. 1 p. 26: 1. A single standard of ethics cannot be applied to all criminal justice agencies. The world is too complex to legislate morality and ethics. The cultures that make up each part of the world are not the same.

Read More
550 Words | 3 Pages

The best way to explain ethics in my own definition would be somebody that is a hard worker and is doing in it in the right way or and it can be a person’s attitude towards work. The person shows the qualities of a hard worker like goal-setting, accountability, task completion and leadership and these people usually are the people that get recognized and promoted to a higher position, good work ethics is something that goes unnoticed. Ethics in the context of criminal justice I feel like mean everybody needs to be honest from every position dealing with the criminal justice system no matter how big or small the position. There are ethical standards that come along with law, without ethics the law would have little meaning. Depending on your job within the criminal justice system, ethics will be your guidelines to follow.

Read More
1221 Words | 5 Pages

Ethics is deciding what is right or wrong using ones moral principles. These two work hand in hand and are supposed to be followed by all businesses and employees. In short Professionalism is what is expected and ethics are what is expected not to do. Application to Movie In the movie

Read More
931 Words | 4 Pages

‘’Most officers enter law enforcement with minimal experience in the field or in handling the moral dilemmas that officers typically encounter. They learn how to perform their jobs, as well as recognize the organizational norms, values, and culture, from their peers and supervisors. While supervisors provide direct, formal reinforcement, officers’ peers offer friendship and informal rewards that, in many cases, hold greater influence than official recognition from the agency’’ (Fitch, 2011). Officers who come across situations where they are unsure what is morally and ethically best to do often turn to their peers for assurance and guidance. Good ethical behavior can easily be influenced by officers and those in law enforcement.

Read More

More about Ethical Dilemmas And Decisions In Criminal Justice

Related Topics

Open Document