...Running head: SOCIAL JUSTICE This is a sample paper for Dr. Matthew Robinson’s class … CJ 5150, “American Justice System and Social Justice” at Appalachian State University The paper is not be used for any purpose other than illustration for students in the class!!! Social Justice versus Criminal Justice Appalachian State University Social Justice versus Criminal Justice In this paper I will discuss how different aspects, policies, and procedures of the United States criminal justice system are inconsistent with the principles of social justice posited by John Rawls and David Miller. The criminal justice system does not promote socially just outcomes or practices. First of all, the criminal justice system is not really a system at all; it is a network. Second, criminal justice places greater emphasis on crime control, rather than due process rights. Our system encourages punishment rather than rehabilitation. Finally, criminal justice policies such as the death penalty and the war on drugs reflect prejudices within the system, resulting in unequal treatment. Before beginning to explain these flaws within criminal justice, I will first define social justice and explain the essential social justice principles suggested in Rawls and Miller’s theories. Social Justice Justice is based on two supposedly equal conceptions. First, guilty offenders are held accountable for their actions and second, that criminal justice...
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...Inequality and the Sociological Impacts In modern society inequality is an inescapable fact of life; certain social groups are better positioned than others to take advantage of the opportunities, wealth and power of a society. When Australian society is examined it becomes obvious that indigenous people as a social group are faced with a decided disadvantage when it comes to opportunities, wealth and power. This essay intends to focus on the over-representation of indigenous people in the criminal justice system from a sociological viewpoint. This over-representation becomes sociologically significant when it is seen as an expression of inequality meaning that wider social issues are at play that effect indigenous people specifically. The two major reasons or drivers of this over-representation stem from this inequality; the first is an element of institutional discrimination found in both the courts and the police services in Australia which tend to target indigenous people disproportionately with the facilitation of legislation and practices which indigenous people have little to no involvement in formulating. The second is a set of cultural and social norms that exist amongst indigenous people which clash with the norms of the dominant white culture who are responsible for the laws and regulations that all groups in society are meant to abide by. Furthermore social conflict theories on crime such as those formulated by Turk and Sellin provide a rich theoretical support...
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...most diverse and wealthiest countries in the world. Although the United States is wealthy, not all individuals have benefited from that wealth. Throughout society, African American communities have become marginalized, with areas of poverty, high crime rates, discrimination and few opportunities for advancement. These areas are often locations where racial and cultural minorities live. Racial disparities exist within the criminal justice system and have shown many problems of inequality between the white and black race. In addition to having inequality within the criminal justice system, the criminals also have impacted their family members in different ways due to being incarcerated. The media has misrepresented African Americans by emphasizing African Americans participating in crimes while ignoring crimes committed by whites. People in society are assuming that only black people commit crimes, which is unfair because the incidences of people committing crimes are about equal between the races. Racial disparity favors white people over black people in the criminal justice system. Therefore, society must reevaluate the way society portrays who commits crimes, and where they are committed. Throughout many decades of history, black people had been discriminated against and treated as second class citizens in American society, even though they participated equally in the workforce. Discrimination has happened from slavery until present times. For example, during the 17th century...
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...Customer Inserts His/her Name Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name Customer Inserts Grade Course (06, 07, 2012) Racism in criminal justice system Introduction Justice is a term that we hear a lot in our everyday life and also accept it although many of us might have a doubt as to what it truly means. Justice is the phenomenon through which we could achieve righteousness and equality. But unfortunately racism has been a common practice in the criminal justice system. Racism is actually discrimination against a group or individual based on color, social and financial status. It is something that occurs more than we notice. Many scholars believe that racism play a more important role in targeting and sentencing process in the criminal justice system and this is something which should not happen in any country no matter what. In order to understand the role that racism plays in the criminal justice system we must, first, look at the role that it plays before the criminal reaches the day of sentencing in the court. There are various publications that speak on profiling and actuarial methods which unwillingly get people into the system. Though these are two major components of the discriminatory acts that exist within the criminal justice system, it does not actually begin with these institutionalized methods. It is the laws and crime control policies that create discrimination in the system. It has been witnessed that in some instances these laws and policies are set in favor...
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...to everyday. In the most optimal society justice is served by punishing criminals so that law abiding citizens can live their lives in peace. The reality is that criminals receive punishments that are less than justice demands and the non-criminals are cheated. This short paper examines justice theories, the utilitarian view, modern justice view and the security based justice. It is important to consider individual justice, mob justice and societal justice as separate institutions. To better understand these institutions the next section explains justice theories. Justice Theories In this section two types of justice will be discussed: Rawl's Theory of Justice as Fairness and Libertarianism. Rawls focused on a hypothetical model in order to describe his form of justice. In this hypothetical model individuals are required to choose fundamental principles of basic institutions of a given society (Ilstu). The result choices made by the members of this society will be both fair and just. The two principles are as follows: Equal Liberty and Difference. "The Equal Liberty Principle states each person is to have the maximum civil liberties compatible with the same liberty for all (Ilstu)". These would be the principles of the United States Constitution; all American citizens are privileged to receive full civil liberties based on the laws of the land. "The Difference Principle states inequalities are permissible only if (a) they can be expected to work to everyone's advantage...
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...growing concern throughout the years for many Americans. Jury nullification is a constitutional doctrine that allows juries to acquit guilty defendants but who do not deserve punishment. Many believe that when this sort of action takes place the jury racially identify with the criminal defendant. There have been several cases for an example: the O.J Simpson case or the police officers in the Rodney King beating. The evidence was visible, but the verdict was not guilty. This paper includes how and if ethnicity influences courtroom proceedings and judicial practices, arguments against ethnicity-based jury nullification, contemporary examples of ethnicity based-jury nullification, and by choosing a position for or against ethnicity-based jury nullification. Ethnicity Influences and Judicial Practices There have been plenty of attempts to advance equal justice in the United States (Ward, Farrell, & Rousseau, 2009). In the criminal justice administration disparity still remains a concern. Criminal justice research on sentencing has found disparity based on defendant characteristics as gender, race, and class. There have been two changes by many individuals to secure equal justice in the court system. Implementations of sentencing guidelines, reduce bias, and increased racial and ethnic group representation among arbiters of justice (Ward, Farrell, & Rousseau, 2009). This may diversify the pool of explicit and implicit bias that will reduce White advantages. Racial...
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...daughter. The reason the father took justice into his own hands was because it was well known that whites were favored in the eyes of the court and there was a chance the two men would get away with the rape of his little girl. This movie does a fantastic job of portraying institutional discrimination, racial inequality, and the reality of life in the south; even though slavery was abolished the deep seeded racism was still a part of everyday life and even more so when it comes to minorities and the criminal justice system. The town of Canton, Mississippi suffers from a wide variety of social inequality. First, the criminal justice system in the South is plagued with institutional discrimination. Even though the judicial system is suppose to be set up to try defendants of any race equally no matter what charges they are facing, this is not the reality. Fact is non-white individuals are judged and sentenced harsher while white defendants serve little to no time for their crimes. Second, it is well known in the movie that minorities are treated unfairly based on their race and social class, and for this reason they have an almost impossible chance of receiving a fair trial in the south, especially when the crime is against a white person or their property. Until we see each other as equals, justice will never be fair. Social stratification in one form or another is present in all societies (Ferris & Stein 2012, p.187). The town of Canton shows various forms of...
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...Crime Look at the different perspectives on the Criminal Justice System A. These are perspectives on formal Social Controls B. They Represent the differences between formal and informal Social Controls 1. Informal social controls a) Social Norms, Morals, and Values that define what is Right or Wrong 1) Basic Social Rules that we live our day to day lives by 2) They keep us from hurting or depriving each other 3) For Example: the "golden rule" a) "Do onto others as you would have them do onto you" b) Fear of social disapproval regulates our behavior 1) In society, those who break the law, even if they are not apprehended, are looked down upon c) Example: why do we wear clothes to class? 1) Is it because we will be arrested for indecent exposure if we do not? 2) Alternatively, is it because everyone will laugh at us if we do not? d) Norms, Morals, and values are Situationally defined 1) Each social group can define what it considers right and wrong a) If this was a class at a "clothing optional" campus, it wouldn't be a big deal if you didn't wear clothes to class 2. The Criminal Justice System and its Administration is our System of Formal Social Controls a) We have given the...
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...committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation. Deviance, in a sociological context, describes actions or behaviors that violate social norms, including formally-enacted rules (e.g., crime), Conformity on the other hand, is an adherence to social norms. In a conflict perspective, all societies are marked by the conflict of social classes, sometime overt, sometimes hidden, due to unequal distribution of resources - Haves and Have-nots. Those who control the productive property of any society (land, factories, and equipment) use their economic power to dominate other spheres--culture, religion, education, politics, and certainly the criminal justice system. There may be laws that benefit everybody, but mostly the upper-class. From a conflict perspective, the criminal justice system perpetuates inequalities by defining deviant behavior in terms of any behavior that threatens the powerful. Laws in a capitalist system are created to protect the interests of the ruling class. Crimes of Rich and Poor are equal, but poor have greater "recognition". Raiman developed pyrrhic defeat theory arguing that those in power have designed the criminal justice system to fail in order to yield benefits for themselves. Michael Parenti’s You Tube video presents some unbelievable facts like, The department of justice found that 60% of the 500 largest US companies have been found guilty in one or more criminal actions like violation of work place safety, price...
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...Assess these strengths and weaknesses of Marxists explanations of crime Traditional Marxism is a structural theory which sees society as a structure in which the economic base determines the shape of the superstructure, which is made up of all the other social institutions, including the state, the law and the criminal justice system. Their function is to serve the ruling-class interests and maintain the capitalist society. Marxists agree that the law is enforced against powerless groups and that labelling often results in further deviance. They see crime and deviance as not coming from moral or biological defects but defects within social order and therefore crime is an inevitable part of capitalism as it stems from social inequality. For Marxists, crime is inevitable in capitalism because capitalism is criminogenic. Capitalism is based on the exploitation of the working class and therefore is particularly damaging to the working class which may give rise to crime. Alienation and the lack of control over their lives may lead to frustration and aggression, resulting in non-utilitarian crimes such as vandalism and violence. Crime may also be the only way they can obtain the consumer goods encouraged by capitalist advertising, resulting in utilitarian crimes such as theft. Therefore, it can be said a strength of the Marxist explanation of crime is that is it explains the causes of both utilitarian and non-utilitarian crime of the working class. However, one could argue that this...
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...be categorized as obscene. John Stuart Mill and the Harms of Pornography is an article written by David Dyzenhaus in 1992, professor of Law and Philosophy at the University of Toronto. In his article, he raises an interesting idea that liberalists and feminists would support the censorship of pornography (Dyzenhaus, 1992). The feminist viewpoint argues that pornography shows men forcing women into sex; therefore it should be censored because of the harm it causes against women. Dyzenhaus then hypothesizes that because pornography is portrayed as violent material, the classical liberalists such as John Stuart Mill would defend the feminists in censoring such behavior based on his harm principle. The article also raises gender inequality issues of contemporary society, one being the subordination of men to women. Three political philosophies are concerned with the law of obscenity: liberalism, conservatism and feminism. Conservative morality takes into consideration the elements of virtue or wickedness behind pornography and asks if the material in question poses threat to society. Liberalism, alternatively, is concerned with the repercussive effects of withholding such material from the public, and whether it would be more detrimental not to permit its publication (Mahoney 8). Both liberal and conservative approaches believe that harm needs to occur before the law should intervene....
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...they are similar, both meaning lack of similarity and or inequality. Even though, in the criminal justice sytsem these words have diffenet meanings. These two terms have been evaluated within the criminal justice system, the dicrimination and disparity of ethic and racial groups have been recognized for a long time by some. At sometime or other disparity maybe the result of discrimination within the justice system in some situations. Disparity refers to the inequality in all aspects within the criminal justice system, for certain groups of individuals it conists og arrest to sentencing; this nearly will always refer back to ethic and racial disparity. Racial disparity is present within the criminal justice system as the porportion of an ethic or racial group is within the control of the system are greater than the the porportion of such groups within the general population ( The Sentencing Project,2008). Even though, it may not always be a relation to intentional discrimination racial disparity has been definately established within our justice system. Discrimination is defined as a distinction based on personal characteristics of an individual resulting in some degree of disadvantage to the indiviudual ( Law Encyclopedia, 2011). In order for us to better understand the similarities and differences between these two terms researchers have recently created the discrimination/disparity continuum in regards to the criminal justice system processes. Five elements consist on this...
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...Crime | Behaviour which breaks laws and is punished by the legal system | Deviance | Behaviour which goes against the norms, values and expectations of a social group or society | Downes and Rock | Defined deviance: ‘Deviance may be considered as banned or controlled behaviour which is likely to attract punishment or disproval’ | Foucault | Wrote about how definitions of criminal deviance, sexual deviance and madness have changed throughout history i.e. women wearing trousers was seen as deviant, now it is ‘normal’(supports: Kuhn: paradigms) | Plummer | An act can be seen as deviant or non deviant depending on the situation * Societal deviance (that are seen by most as deviant in society in most situations) such as child abuse * Situational deviance (acts that can be defined as deviant or normal) such as killing someone, its okay if it is a soldier but deviant otherwise. | Social order and social control maintain the status quo within society and creates a value consensus of how to behave. Therefore people are socialised to follow social norms. | Some norms become second nature to people such as face to face conversations. However there are norms that we are conscious of, such as stopping at a red traffic light. | Formal sanctions (carried out by official agencies) | Positive (conforming to the norm) * Certificate for passing A level exam * Medal for braveryNegative (punishment from deviating from the norm) * Fine for breaking the law * Points on a drivers...
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...for 2011 show that, “More than half (52%) of white male prisoners were age 39 or younger, compared to 63% of black and 68% of Hispanic male prisoners.” There remains disparity when age is factored into the incarceration rates with eleven percent more Blacks and sixteen percent more Hispanics incarcerated than Whites for those 39 and younger. In addition, one must consider that African Americans have higher rates of arrest, conviction, and incarceration when they total a minority number in the population. When evaluating these numbers, one must consider the role that structured inequality plays. “The unfortunate reality we must face is that racism manifests itself not only in individual attitudes and stereotypes, but also in the basic structure of society”, (Alexander, 2010, p. 179). This built in racism and resulting stereotypes and attitudes towards minority groups encourages structured inequality. The...
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...The criminal justice system uses a lot of terminology that can be hard to understand, two words commonly used are disparity and discrimination. In this essay I will define and give current examples of the terminology. I will also explain why knowing the difference between the two is important in the criminal justice system. Disparity and discrimination are similar terms. You might be asking yourself what is disparity? Disparity can be defined as a lack of similarity or equality. Diversity can be defined as the condition of having or being composed of differing elements. One current and highly controversial form of discrimination that we are facing worldwide is same sex marriages. No matter if you are for it or against it you have seen or been affected in some way by the topic. By not allowing same sex marriages to be validated we are discriminating against the gay and lesbian community. There are still many forms of discrimination that take place in today’s society; unfortunately a lot of discrimination is racially based. We also see a lot of gender based discrimination; typically men are still paid more than women for the exact same job. America is the most racially diverse demographic nation in the world. Many people working the criminal justice systems are aware of the racial disparity and would like to counteract it. Racial disparity in the criminal justice system exists when the proportion of the racial or ethnic group within control of the system is greater than the...
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