The Final Verdict

The Final Verdict

The end result of the criminal justice system is the punishment handed down to a convicted criminal. Ethics are an important part of the decision making process for those parties involved in prosecuting and punishing suspected criminals. The aforementioned parties include agencies such as local police, federal law enforcement agencies, district attorneys' offices, and judges.

Local police and federal agents need to use ethical decision making skills when evaluating whether or not to pursue a case, or in what way to pursue it. They might take into consideration, for example, whether a suspect has a family and what his incarceration would do to the family; the suspect's economic situation, as it might affect his family; and the suspect's prior criminal history. Once the law enforcement official has evaluated all aspects of the case, he will determine whether or not to make an arrest, and if so then as to what is the arrest for. When the law enforcement agent has completed his investigation and made an arrest, the case is given to a prosecuting attorney.

Dependent upon whether the suspect has broken a state or federal statute, the case will either be given to a district attorney or an U.S. attorney's office. The prosecutor plays a large role in deciding what to charge the defendant with, and he also makes recommendations as to what punishment the state or federal government is seeking. A prosecutor might take into consideration that a defendant could be used as a witness in another case, and in turn offer to lower or even drop the charges against him in exchange for sworn testimony. The most difficult decision though that a prosecutor might face is that of deciding whether to pursue the death penalty in a case. The decision to seek the death penalty is largely decided upon by the prosecutor's personal beliefs, and the wishes of the administration for which he works. As soon as the prosecution decides on what course of action to take, the case is brought before the court system.

The party that must use the most ethics in the criminal justice system is the judge. The judge must act in an impartial manner when presiding of a case, and when making a verdict if the verdict is not coming from a jury. No personal feelings of the judge should be affecting the case, but if in some instance it does, then the judge should use ethical discretion and request to be removed from hearing that individual case.