The chapter about law and legal professionals by Joycelyn Pollock focuses on the legal aspect of the criminal justice system and the ethicality of legal professionals. The first half of the chapter sets up how the law relates to ethics, and what its purpose is. The law is a good way to see a written form of society’s ethics, because laws are tools of behavior meant to prevent harm to individuals and the community as a whole. However, the law is not comprehensive in defining moral behavior, as we can see in the way certain actions become legal or illegal as society changes. There are different views of how the law works, and we see these through paradigms, or models of what the system is. People who see the law as a reflection of the majority …show more content…
These models were established through the American Bar Association and set out general guidelines for ethical behavior. The chapter discusses how the model rules have continued to be adapted and added to as issues within the court system have occurred. This is a good example of showing how these code of ethics can be effective if they are kept current and reformed as new issues occur. Other parts of the criminal justice systems could learn from this and hopefully amendments can be made to other documents and policies that exist so that corruption and unethical practices can reduce throughout all sectors of the system, not just the …show more content…
The book mentions two different types of lawyers, the legal agent and the moral agent. From the legal agent standpoint, the role of the lawyer is to remain impartial and help their client get the outcome they desire, regardless of their client’s ethicality in the situation. From the moral agent standpoint, the lawyer should follow the rules of their own moral code, and if the interests of their client conflict with this, they follow what is ethical. From a legal point of view, the moral agent is a better option because it ensures that the truth is known to the courtroom and lessens mistakes being made. From a civil rights point of view, the legal agent is the better option because it ensures the rights of the client and instills trust between the individual and his or her agent. I would be interested to see research on how each type of moral agent affects the criminal justice system, and if there is a ground in the middle upon which lawyers could attempt to maintain client confidentiality, but also report information that could be imperative to a case whether it be for or against a
Introduction The book that I selected is called “Getting Life” by Michael Morton, who is a man that was wrongfully convicted of killing his wife in Texas in 1986. This book takes us from a happy young couple to the day of the murder, through the investigation into his wife’s murder, Michael’s trial and conviction, 25 years in prison, appeals, release from prison, and reintegration into society. One unique fact about this case is that is the first case where the prosecutor in a wrongful conviction case was subsequently convicted of prosecutorial misconduct, stripped of their law license and sentenced to serve time in jail.
Marshal we will first discuss three of the main ethical challenges. These ethical challenges are that of acting impartially, use of force regulation, and abuse of authority. When it comes to all law enforcement agencies the concept of acting impartially is one that should always be present. This concept can become challenging when you are dealing with serious offenders who at face value should are guilty and should be treated as such. But, under the law, you need to act a certain way and follow specific procedures so that to ensure that proper court proceedings can occur.
Nils Christie’s view on modern law is that due to specialization, victims have lost the right to participate in their trials. Lawyers are becoming too involved in cases, taking conflicts away from parties and turning them into property. Christie states there there is less attention focused on the effects on the victim and more focus on the criminal’s background. Christie also states that getting a court to function is difficult while there are specialists present. According to Christie, parties become uneasy with handling their own social conflicts where they know there are professionals present who they believe can do a better job.
This article on ethics was really interesting and a dilemma that is prevalent within criminal justice. In the article Dr. Steven Davis recognized that students cheating in high school increased by 20% in the 1940 to 75% today. Davis stated, "If students lack ethics in high school and college, then there should be little surprise that they lack ethics in their careers. (2008). " This observation by Davis holds some value, because individuals that is willing to cheat to get ahead, definitely has no problem crossing ethical lines, because in their mind the wrong is acceptable, just as it was when they cheated.
Ethics and the Evolution of Police Policing in this present day is defined as an individual or group of individual who prevent and detect crime within a community. Policing compares in many ways. They all attempt to provide services, keep the peace and reduce crime. Policing has evolved into something much more than what it used to be. Within this essay are the many different perspectives and how ethics were learned.
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.
The relationship between the law and society affects everyone and everything. How the law is written and how it is acted upon in society are two different things. It is imperative, therefore, that we as citizens pay attention to and understand the importance of the relationship between the law and society as it affects both our own lives and the lives of those around us. We engage in and witness the power of the law and society everyday. The law is personal, however, the law is also discretionary depending on where you look.
Ethics is described as the moral believes by which a person will conduct a specific activity. It is these moral believes between the client and legal professional that need to agree to decide the outcome of the case. This essay will handle with legal ethics regarding to being a fit and proper person, the clients needs, professional conduct, professional responsibility and the legal system in South Africa. Before being admitted as a legal professional a person needs to be regarded as being a fit and proper person to practice the noble and precise field of law. The requirement of being fit and proper is seen as one of the most important characteristics of the legal profession but is not to be found in legislation nor is it defined.
In the discussion of moral objectivism and moral relativism, it is important to understand the difference, and the impact that a moral system has on the criminal justice community. The community exists to enforce the laws. Moral judgments are made with votes, and the decisions on how laws are crafted are made by elected officials. For this reason, it makes sense for the criminal justice community to separate themselves professionally from their own moral views. Moral Relativism is the view of morality, much like beauty, is relative to the person, culture, or organization.
There are three components that make up the criminal justice system – the police, courts, and correctional facilities – they all work together in order to protect individuals and their rights as a citizen of society to live without the fear of becoming the victim of a crime. Crime, simply put is when a person violates criminal law; the criminal justice system is society’s way of implementing social control. When all three components of the criminal justice work together, it functions almost perfectly. For a person to enter the criminal justice system, the process must begin with the law enforcement.
Public relations practitioners are faced with many challenges when it comes to abiding to the code of ethics in public relations, and making sure that they are accountable to the interest of the community, their clients and employers. In most situations these three groups of people have different expectations, values and beliefs, hence realistically it is very difficult to achieve perfect symmetry. As a result, practitioners are faced with many ethical dilemmas, as the area of ethics is a grey area. The definition of ethics explained by Parsons (2008) stated that public relations ethics is the application of knowledge, understanding and reasoning to questions on what is that right or wrong behaviour in professional practice of public relations.
Becoming a lawyer requires a significant amount of formal education. Learn about the education, job duties and licensure requirements to see if this is the right career for you. Lawyers usually begin career-specific education and training at the graduate level. In order to get accepted into law school, a strong undergraduate performance is helpful, and an LSAT exam score is more than likely required.
Law personal statement main As a child, looking up to law-enforcers such as police officer’s has made me believe that Law is the backbone of our society. Without it, everyday life would not be tolerable. My passion for law developed when I stepped into the Supreme Court and watched a court case in the Old Bailey.
‘’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.
Law is present in our daily life and in everything we do. We cannot think a second without law. Whatever we can see around us everything is connected with the law. Sometimes we can see it and sometimes we cannot see but feel it. Law is not just a thing to obey for yourself but making a peaceful society.