Discretion And Court Cases

Week 3 IW “Discretion & Court Cases”

Discretion & Court Cases Discretion varies in each profession just as it does in each jurisdiction. It is how a person in an authoritative position conducts themselves and what they do in accordance with their profession and with ethical obligations as well as the law. Disparity is a major player in the terms of discretion which includes Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Age. First and foremost society has set the mind frame for this which flows into the courtroom and also statistics have been proven to back up some of this stereotyping ("Reducing racial disparity," 2008). Disparity is ethically wrong but it clearly happens every day in the court. Starting with this
Having the ability to set the criteria/agenda for the others involved in the team influences what information will be used to control the case (Neubauer, Ph.D. & Fradella, Ph.D., 2014). The Defense Attorney must do research to see if laws have been reformed and to see what other cases are similar that could support or hurt their case. Defendants and victims can have predisposed opinions because of social or class status and previous cases. The defendant and the victim do have some of their own rights in the case. The defendant can decide for instance to take a plea or not, or to take the stand or not. The victim at times may not have so much freedom as once a case is in the States’ hands the State will proceed even if the victim changes his/her mind in some cases. Such as domestic violence, a partner may decide not to proceed but the state can proceed even when the victim does not want to testify if there is hard evidence the Prosecutor can win the case. Discretion has a domino effect and starts with the victim because if the victim leaves something out or lies then they are using their discretion which can make or break the case. The attorneys must use their discretion for proving the case and for defending the case. The judge uses his/her discretion to pass sentence which has been in some form shaped through
Using discretion is doing what is right or wrong just as one does with their morals and ethics in their profession. Disparity is seen through the criminal justice system by all players even legislature (The Sentencing Project, Research and Advocacy for Reform, 2008). Police officers are usually the first persons to deal with criminals and that is where discretion starts in the physical presence. Discretion and disparity are under scrutiny and will remain so. Discretion must be used and there has to be a routine check on