JUS 455 Additional Readings PDF

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Summary

Notes on all of the additional readings (articles, PDFs, anything not in the textbook) for the whole course...

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PDF: The Importance of Ethics in Criminal Justice 

Ethics present a way to make moral choices when you are uncertain about what to do

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They allow you to quickly recognize ethical consequences, which helps with management and policy decisions, and is particularly important for those in positions of power

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Normative Ethics: Act morally, using reason to help you decide

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Ethical Relativism: Right and wrong varies between cultures and people

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Cultural Relativism: Every cultural has its own moral code, and that is okay

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Ethical Absolutism: There is an eternal and unchanging moral law that is the same for all people, times, and places

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Ethical Pluralism: Understand, tolerate, stand up against evil, admit fallibility, there is no “one truth,” but rather many truths in most situations

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Divine Command: The belief that god decides what is right and wrong

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Ethics have been viewed as a product of natural law and have been used as law

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Ethical problems in criminal justice include the abuse of authority, the relationship between personal and professional interests, commitments to clients, criminal justice and public policy, policing policies, information sharing, human rights issues, and media reporting

ARTICLE: Rethinking Ethics in Law Enforcement 

Virtue Ethics and Bad Apples  One’s actions are a reflection of their character, so if an officer acts badly, it is because they are bad people and should not have been hired

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Ethical training could also help prevent these issues

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Pressure from authorities and the impact of social learning from those in status and power

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Officers can cognitively rationalize their actions through the denial of the victim or injury (“it’s not hurting anyone”), the denial of responsibility (“there was nothing I could do”), social weighting (“at least I’m not as bad as this other guy”) and through moral justification (“these people are criminals and deserve this”)

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Law enforcement needs to foster a culture of ethics

ARTICLE: The Oath of Honor 

The oath of honor is a concise way to constantly reaffirm the commitment to police values and ethical behaviors

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It should be printed everywhere to remind officers, and it should be recited often at events and gatherings

ARTICLE: Render Onto Ceasar That Which Is Ceasar’s 

There is a complex relationship between law, religion, and morality

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Western law is influenced by religion but is autonomous from it, and is somewhat separate from morality, with the exception of widely held ideals like the notion that murder and theft are generally wrong

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The government punishes victimless crimes, which may give prosecutors too much discretion in enforcement o Overly paternalistic laws are often widely disobeyed, and people may not even know they are breaking the law

ARTICLE: Legislation vs. Morality – Police Officer’s Dilemma 

Legislation and one’s morals don’t always agree, the ethics of care does not mesh well with most police orders and duties

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But they have sworn to uphold the law, so it would be unethical not to do their jobs

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But their jobs in some cases are unethical, so would it be less unethical, in some cases, to not do their jobs?

ARTICLE: What Is Legal Isn’t Always Ethical 

Plenty of unethical things are legal

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Laws are generally based on either morality or safety o If anything that has ever been legal has been ethical because it is legal, we would never need to make new laws that would make these actions illegal, as there would be no reason to makes something that is apparently ethical (because it is legal) illegal (thereby declaring it unethical) o Usually, when people claim that anything legal is inherently ethical, they are trying to justify their own unethical behaviorh

PDF: Improving American Police Ethics Training 

Ethical principles for police should combine social contract theory and principles from the Declaration and Constitution, because police have so much direct power

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There are problems with the current ethical codes, they are just lists of “dos” and “don’ts” with no explanation of “why,” or how to think through dilemmas not presented by these codes

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Cohen and Feldberg’s five moral standards for police o Fair access, public trust, safety and security, teamwork, and objectivity

Chapter Twelve: Terrorism and Human Trafficking Terrorism, Treason, and Sedition 

Historically, terrorism is a bigger threat to countries outside of the U.S. than inside

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Terrorism: Commission of traditional crime with the intent to coerce a population or government

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Treason: Levying war against or supporting the enemy of one’s nation o However, sentencing someone to this requires two witnesses of the same overt act or a confession in open court

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Sedition: Inciting violence against a government o Seditious conspiracies are generally prohibited, also the Logan Act prohibits them

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Also, bioterrorism, aiding terrorists, and using Weapons of Mass Destruction are all separate federal crimes

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There are some constitutional issues regarding the Patriot Act and how criminal procedures and military operations are conducted

PDF: Technology Ethics for Law Enforcement 

Technology has benefitted law enforcement in a myriad of ways

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But these new tools come with new ethical guidelines and dilemmas o Don’t forget the 4th Amendment, it applies with tech as well...