Criminal Justice Ethics in a Diverse Society

Catalog description

This course provides a survey of ethical systems and theories. Section 1 provides an overview of the study of ethics, with definitions and a discussion of the parameters of ethical analysis. Section 2 presents the major ethical systems (utilitarianism, ethical formalism, religion, ethics of care, virtue ethics). Section 3 examines the origins of the concept of justice, distributive justice, corrective justice, substantive justice, procedural justice, immoral laws and the moral person, and restorative justice. Section 4 explains the theories of moral development, biological factors, learning theory, Kohlberg's moral stage theory, teaching ethics, and avoiding cynicism and burnout. Section 5 discusses the role of police in society as a crime fighter or public servant, police power and discretion, and the police subculture. Section 6 examines police discretion and discrimination, discretion in criminal investigations, and discretion and the use of force. Section 7 examines police misconduct and corruption as a worldwide problem, including international measures of corruption, on-duty use of drugs and alcohol, sexual misconduct, and criminal behavior by police. Section 8 examines the role of law, the law and legal behavior, justifications for law, and the various paradigms of law. Section 9 presents issues of discretion and dilemmas for the defense and the prosecution. Section 10 discusses ethical misconduct in the courts and the explanations and methods of response to the misconduct. Section 11 describes the issues involving discretion of correctional officers, treatment staff, and probation and parole officers.