Why Study Ethics?
Summary
TLDRThe video script delves into the ethical responsibilities of professionals within the criminal justice system, highlighting the significant discretion they possess. It covers the roles of legislators, police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and correctional officers, emphasizing their duty to uphold the law fairly and protect constitutional safeguards. The importance of ethics in decision-making, especially concerning life, liberty, and property, is underscored, advocating for ethical training to equip these professionals with the necessary skills to navigate the moral complexities of their roles.
Takeaways
- 📜 Discretion in Criminal Justice: Professionals in the criminal justice system, from legislators to correctional officers, have varying degrees of discretion, which is the power to make decisions between multiple choices.
- 🏛️ Legislators' Authority: Legislators have the power to define acts as illegal and set punishments, often driven by public safety or moral definitions.
- 🚔 Police Discretion: Police officers have significant discretionary power, including the ability to arrest, investigate, and in some cases, use lethal force.
- 🔍 Prosecutorial Discretion: Prosecutors have wide-ranging discretion in deciding whom to prosecute, which charges to pursue, and whether to seek the death penalty.
- 👩⚖️ Defense Attorneys' Duties: Defense attorneys have ethical duties similar to prosecutors but also unique responsibilities to their clients, such as deciding on plea deals and evidence presentation.
- 👨⚖️ Judicial Power: Judges have considerable power in accepting or denying plea bargains, ruling on evidence, and determining sentencing.
- 🛡️ Correctional Officers' Influence: Correctional officers and parole officers have immense discretion over the lives of citizens, affecting their liberty and well-being.
- 🏛️ Duty to Enforce Law: All professionals in the criminal justice system have a fundamental duty to uphold and enforce the law, serving as public servants.
- 👥 Public Servants' Ethical Standards: As public servants, these professionals are held to higher ethical standards, reflecting the public trust placed in them.
- 🧐 Importance of Ethics: Ethics is crucial for criminal justice professionals to administer policy effectively and make morally and ethically responsible decisions.
- 🤔 Ethical Dilemmas: Criminal justice professionals face ethical dilemmas involving discretion, force, and due process, requiring them to make informed moral judgments.
Q & A
What is the definition of discretion in the context of the criminal justice system?
-Discretion in the context of the criminal justice system refers to the authority to make a decision between two or more choices, especially when decisions are not entirely bound by legal rules or policy regulations.
Why is ethics important for legislators who write laws?
-Ethics is important for legislators because they have the power to define certain acts as illegal and set the amount of punishment, which requires a strong grounding in ethics to ensure public safety and moral definitions are applied responsibly.
How does the discretionary power of police officers affect the public?
-Police officers have the power to deprive people of their liberty through arrest and decide which individuals to investigate, which can greatly affect the public when they choose to give a warning instead of a traffic ticket, for example.
What ethical duty do prosecutors have in the criminal justice system?
-Prosecutors have an ethical duty to pursue justice rather than merely securing a conviction, which means their discretion in deciding whom and how to prosecute should be influenced by the goal of justice.
What are the unique duties of defense attorneys in comparison to prosecutors?
-Defense attorneys have ethical duties similar to prosecutors but also have unique duties to their clients, such as deciding whether to encourage a plea deal, what evidence to use, and how to try the case.
What powers do judges typically have in the criminal justice system?
-Judges possess significant power, which is typically employed through decisions to deny or accept plea bargains, rulings on rules of evidence, and decisions about sentencing.
How do correctional officers' decisions impact the lives of prisoners?
-Correctional officers have immense power over the lives of citizens, making daily decisions that affect the life and health of prisoners they supervise, including decisions on punishment and segregation.
What is the role of parole officers in the criminal justice system?
-Parole officers decide when to file a violation report and make decisions that affect the parolee as well as their family members, demonstrating a significant discretion over the lives of those they control.
What does the phrase 'we are a nation of laws not men' imply about the legal system?
-The phrase implies that no one is above the law, regardless of power, and that the law should be applied fairly without taking the law into one's own hands, emphasizing the importance of constitutional safeguards like due process and equal protection.
Why is the study of ethics important for criminal justice professionals?
-The study of ethics is important for criminal justice professionals because it helps develop critical thinking and analytical skills needed to understand and navigate the ethical aspects of their work, including decisions involving discretion, force, and due process.
What ethical considerations are essential for criminal justice research?
-Ethical considerations essential for criminal justice research include recognizing the potential for abuse of power, ensuring fairness and unbiased application of the law, and upholding the principles of due process and equal protection.
Outlines
👮♂️ Discretion and Ethics in Criminal Justice
This paragraph discusses the varying degrees of discretion and authority within the criminal justice system, from lawmakers to prison officials. It highlights the importance of ethics in decision-making, especially when legal rules do not strictly dictate actions. The paragraph emphasizes the duty of these professionals to uphold the law and protect constitutional safeguards such as due process and equal protection. It also touches on the unique responsibilities of different roles, including legislators, police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and correctional officers, and how their decisions can impact life, liberty, and property.
🏛 Public Servants and Ethical Considerations
The second paragraph focuses on the role of public servants within the criminal justice system, including their special duties and the public trust they hold. It underscores the significance of ethics in the professional conduct of these individuals, who are often in positions of power and authority. The paragraph also discusses the importance of ethical training for criminal justice professionals to develop critical thinking and analytical skills. It points out that ethical considerations are central to decisions involving discretion, force, and due process, and that professionals must be sensitive to ethical issues and equipped to resolve ethical dilemmas. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the unique involvement of criminal justice in coercion and the need for professionals to be aware of and responsive to ethical concerns in their work.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Criminal Justice System
💡Discretion
💡Legislators
💡Police Officers
💡Prosecutors
💡Defense Attorneys
💡Judges
💡Correctional Officers
💡Public Servants
💡Due Process
💡Equal Protection
💡Ethics
Highlights
Discretion in the criminal justice system is the authority to make decisions between choices, which is crucial due to the varying degrees of power professionals have.
Legislators have the power to define acts as illegal and set punishments, often based on public safety or moral definitions.
Police officers possess significant discretionary power, including the ability to arrest and use lethal force, and are constitutionally protected from unlimited power.
Prosecutors have discretion in deciding whom to prosecute and how, which can sometimes be influenced by factors beyond justice.
Defense attorneys have unique duties to their clients, including deciding on plea deals and the approach to presenting a case.
Judges wield considerable power through decisions on plea bargains, evidence rules, and sentencing.
Correctional officers have immense power over citizens' lives, affecting liberty through decisions on good time and segregation.
Parole officers' decisions can impact both the parolee and their family members, highlighting the far-reaching consequences of their discretion.
Criminal justice professionals share common elements of discretion, power over others, and the potential deprivation of life, liberty, or property.
The duty of enforcing the law is a fundamental responsibility for all professionals in the criminal justice system.
The principle that no one is above the law and that the law must be fairly and unbiasedly applied is central to the legal system.
Due process and equal protection are constitutional safeguards that protect individuals from arbitrary use of power by the government.
Ethics is vital for criminal justice professionals, as it helps develop critical thinking and analytical skills necessary for understanding ethical aspects.
Ethical considerations are central to decisions involving discretion, force, and due process, requiring professionals to make enlightened moral judgments.
Criminal justice professionals are public servants with special duties to the public, necessitating higher standards of conduct.
Studying ethics sensitizes students to ethical issues and provides tools to help identify and resolve ethical dilemmas in their professional lives.
Ethical issues for justice system professionals include relationships with citizens, their agency, and each other, emphasizing the importance of ethical conduct.
Transcripts
[Music]
although the decisions faced by
professionals associated with the
criminal justice system ranging from
legislators who write the laws to
correctional professionals who supervise
prisoners may be different they also
have similarities especially in that
these professionals all experience
varying degrees of discretion Authority
in power
discretion is the authority to make a
decision between two or more choices if
decisions were totally bounded by legal
rules or policy regulations then perhaps
there would be less reason for ethical
analysis however the greater role
discretion plays in a profession the
more important is a strong grounding in
ethics legislators have the power to
define certain acts as illegal and
therefore punishable they also have the
power to set the amount of the
punishment public safety is usually the
reason given for criminalizing certain
forms of behavior in other cases
legislators employ moral definitions for
deciding which behaviors should be
illegal protection of public morality is
the rationale for some laws including
those involving drugs gambling and
prostitution police officers who enforce
the laws created by legislators also
have a great deal of discretionary power
most of us in fact have benefited from
this discretion when we receive a
warning instead of a traffic ticket
police officers have the power to
deprive people of their Liberty through
arrest and the power to decide which
individuals to investigate and perhaps
target for undercover operations they
also have the power to decide that
lethal force is warranted in the United
States we enjoy constitutional
protections against unlimited police
power and police act as guardians of the
law not merely enforcers for those in
power
prosecutors probably face the least
public scrutiny of all criminal justice
professionals which is ironic because
they possess a great deal of discretion
in deciding whom and how to prosecute
they decide which charges to pursue and
which to drop which cases to take to a
grand jury
how to prosecute a case and whether to
pursue the death-penalty in homicide
cases although prosecutors have an
ethical duty to pursue justice rather
than conviction some critics argue that
at times their discretion making seems
to be influenced by politics or factors
other than the goal of justice defense
attorneys have ethical duties similar to
prosecutors in some ways however they
also have unique duties to their client
after deciding whether or not to take a
case they decide whether to encourage a
client to agree to a plea deal what
evidence to utilize and how to try the
case and whether to encourage a client
to appeal judges possess incredible
power typically employed through
decisions to deny or accept plea
bargains decisions regarding rules of
evidence and decisions about sentencing
finally correctional officers have
immense powers over the lives of some
citizens probation officers make
recommendations in pre-sentence reports
and violation reports that affect
whether an individual goes to prison
prison officials decide to award or take
away good time and they may punish an
inmate with segregation both types of
decisions affect an individual's Liberty
correction officers make daily decisions
that affect the life and health of
prisoners they supervise parole officers
decide when to file a violation report
and make decisions that affect the
parolee as well as family members in
short the correctional professionals
have a great deal of discretion over the
lives of those they control although the
professionals discussed face different
dilemmas they also share the following
common elements they each have
discretion that is the power to make a
decision although the specific decisions
are different they all involve power
over others and the potential
deprivation of life liberty or property
they each have the duty of enforcing the
law although this concept is obvious
with police it's also clear that each of
the professionals mentioned have a basic
duty to uphold and enforce the laws they
serve the law in their professional
lives you may have heard the phrase we
are
nation of laws not men what this means
is that no one is supposed to be above
the law no matter how powerful and no
one is supposed to take the law into
their own hands no matter how clear the
guilt they must accept that their duty
is to protect the constitutional
safeguards that are the cornerstone of
our legal system specifically due
process and equal protection due process
protects each of us from err in any
government deprivation of life liberty
or property we recognize the right of
the government to control and even
punish but we also have certain
protections against arbitrary or
unlawful use of power due process
protects us against such abuses we also
expect the power of our government will
be used fairly in an unbiased manner
equal protection should ensure that what
happens to us is not determined by the
color of our skin our gender our
nationality or the religion we practice
laws are for everyone and the protection
of the law extends to all of us although
the fair amount of evidence indicates
the different treatment does exist the
ideal of equal protection is an
essential element of our legal system
and should be an operating principle for
everyone working in this system they are
public servants public servants possess
more than a job they have taken on
special duties involving the public
trust individuals such as legislators
public officials police officers judges
and prosecutors are either elected or
appointed guardians of the public
interest arguably they must be held to
higher standards than those that guard
and govern the study of ethics is
important for criminal justice
professionals let's take a look
professionals are recognized as such in
part because profession normally
includes a set of ethical requirements
as part of its meaning professionalism
among all actors at all levels of the
criminal justice system depends upon
their ability to administer policy
effectively in a morally and ethically
responsible manner training in ethics
helps develop critical thinking and
analytical skills and reasoning
abilities needed to understand the
pragmatic and
ethical aspects of the criminal justice
system criminal justice professionals
should be able to recognize quickly the
ethical consequence of various actions
and the moral principles involved
ethical considerations are central to
decisions involving discretion force and
due process that require people to make
enlightened moral judgments policy is
germane to most management and policy
decisions concerning such penal issues
as rehabilitation deterrence and Just
Desserts ethical considerations are
essential aspects of the criminal
justice research even if their actions
are not discovered many people suffer
from a moral crisis when they realize
how far their actions have strayed from
their moral ideals we can summarize this
discussion with three basic points we
study ethics because criminal justice is
uniquely involved in coercion which
means that there are many varied
opportunities to abuse such power
almost all criminal justice
professionals are public servants and
thus we owe special duties to the public
they serve we study ethics to sensitize
students to ethical issues and provide
tools to help identify and resolve the
ethical dilemmas they may face in their
professional lives ethical issues for
professionals in the justice system
include relationship with citizens with
their agency and with each other
[Music]
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