Morals, ethics and justice

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Morals, ethics and justice
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Why should CJ professionalsworry about ethics?

• They are public servants, withpublic duties and
  responsibilities(more on this later)
• They use discretion can choosefrom different
  courses of action
• They have authority and power
• Use force and coercion
• Their actions can have majorimpacts on peoples
  lives
• Talking point ? the 23-year old cop(meaning
  chronological age, not years on the job)

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Definitions

• Morals
• Principles of right and wrong
• What a society considers good conduct
• Taking care of elderly, being kind to strangers,
  avoiding violence
• Ethics
• Discipline of determining good and evil
• Study of how society defines good and bad conduct
• Behaving morally
• Duties specific behaviors required by ones role
  (e.g. parent provider)
• Imperfect duties general obligation no specific
  conduct set out(i.e., generosity)
• Superogatories commendable acts that go beyond
  whats required
• Values
• Desirable or important qualities - loyalty,
  honesty, wealth, etc.
• Not all values are of equal worthiness

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Types of ethics

• Meta-ethics - the scientific study of ethics
• What is the meaning of the terms used in ethics?
• Are ethical systems relative or universal?
• Are they real? How can they be verified?
• Normative ethics
• What people ought to do
• Definition of proper conduct and moral
  obligations
• Applied ethics
• Applying ethical principles to specific issues
• Professional ethics
• Applying ethical principles to occupations

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Principles of public serviceethics (Josephson
Institute)

• Office is a public trust
• Accountability truth and transparency
• Democracy responsiveness to political oversight
• Objectivity, freedom from conflicts of interest
• Exchange agreement (social contract)
• Obligations of CJ professionals
• Due Process - Objectivity, accuracy, impartiality
  
• Equal Protection - Freedom from bias, equal
  treatment

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Making moral judgments

• To judge there must have been
• A human act, of free will, that affects others
• Legal v. moral culpability
• Different concepts
• Exemptions from legal and/or moral culpability
• Juveniles - too immature to appreciate
  consequence of their acts
• The insane - mentally incapable of appreciating
  consequences
• Lack of free will - someone was coerced or acted
  in self-defense
• Mitigations - culpable but with an explanation
• Intent - negligent (bad), reckless (worse),
  purposive (worst)
• Life circumstances such as poverty lack of
  opportunity
• Relative culpability (hanger-on v. ringleader)
• Provocation (e.g., battered spouse lashes out)

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Ethical issues v. ethical dilemmas

• Ethical issue
• Broad social questions or policy decisions, not
  resolvable by individuals (death penalty,
  three-strikes, citizen oversight, broken windows,
  immigration law, etc.)
• Ethical dilemmas
• Individual faced with a decision what to do
• Situation is complicated because
• Ethically correct thing to do is unclear
• Taking the ethically correct action may have
  costs - negative consequences for the actor or
  for others

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Analyzing ethical dilemmas

• Critical thinking is key
• Separate facts from concepts
• Identify underlying assumptions
• Process
• Identify the facts. What happened? What is known?
• Identify relevant values (e.g., loyalty, duty,
  honesty, fairness) and concepts (e.g., due
  process, proportionality, equality)
• Identify all moral dilemmas for each person
  involved. Be sure to identify relevant laws,
  agency regulations, professional codes and
  workplace standards.
• Decide on the most immediate moral or ethical
  issue
• Use an ethical system or other means to resolve
  the ethical or moral dilemma

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Ethical systems

• What are they?
• Set of principles that define what is moral
• Underlying premises for making judgments
• Beyond argument
• Characteristics
• Prescriptive - demand certain behavior
• Authoritative - not debatable
• Logically impartial or universal - rules apply to
  all
• Not self-serving - what is good for all, not just
  the actor
• Ethical system ? Moral rules (limit drinking, put
  children first) ? Moral judgment (parents who
  drink and neglect kids are bad)

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Ethical system Ethics of virtue(Aristotle)

• What makes a good person?
• People not born good but become goodby following
  habits of a moral exemplar
• Focus on character - not actions
• Intellectual virtues (e.g. wisdom, understanding)
• Moral virtues (e.g. self-control, generosity)
• Josephson Institutes six pillars of character
  Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility,
  fairness, caring, citizenship
• Golden mean moral choices reflect moderation
  or the midpoint
• Example - thrift lies between being a miser and a
  spendthrift
• Might explain a lot of behavior
• We usually do the right thing without thinking
  about it
• Difficult to apply to individual moral dilemmas
  because virtues might sometimes be in opposition
  (e.g., honesty and loyalty)

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Ethical systemNatural Law

• Morality is part of the natural order
• There are universal rights and wrongs
• What is good is what conforms to thenatural
  order of things
• Preserving life
• Maintaining the species
• Prohibiting needless killing
• Promoting socialization through altruism and
  generosity
• Pursuit of knowledge and understanding about the
  universe
• Natural human rights
• Balance between personal rights and societal
  obligations
• Social contract give up something to the group
  to gain a greater benefit
• Difficulty what is natural?

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Ethical systemReligion

• Moral guidelines for how to live ones life
• Gods will is beyond question
• Many religions have similar moral principles
• A version of Christianitys Do unto
  othersGolden Rule can be found in Hinduism,
  Buddhism, Confucianism and Judaism
• Issues
• Is Gods command to not do something based on an
  acts inherent wrongfulness, or on Gods own
  judgment?
• Determining Gods will (Barry)
• Individual conscience
• Religious authorities
• Holy scriptures

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Ethical system Ethical Formalism (Immanuel Kant)

• A deontological ethical system
• Concerned only with the nature of an act
• Only truly good thing is a good will
• Acts should always conform to the categorical
  imperative
• Could an act become a rule of nature? If so, it
  is good
• Acts are evaluated without concern for their
  purpose or consequences
• Killing and lying are always wrong
• As long as an act is done in good will, it is
  moral even if tragic consequences result
• Good will means that an act is taken because it
  is inherently right - not because it might yield
  a reward
• Serious weakness - why leave out the potential
  consequences of an act when assessing its moral
  worth?

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Ethical system Utilitarianism(Jeremy Bentham
andJohn Stuart Mill)

• Teleological ethical system measures an
  actsgoodness according to its consequences
• Purpose to produce the greatest benefit for all
  concerned - the best ratio of good to evil
• Types
• Act utilitarianism consideration limited to the
  utility gained from a specific act
• Rule utilitarianism also consider an acts
  precedential and rule-setting values (e.g.,
  abortion)
• Difficulties
• Measuring benefits
• Predicting consequences of acts
• Little concern for individual rights
• Example - throwing out an occupant of a lifeboat
  because it might otherwise sink

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Ethical systemEthics of Care

• What is good meets the needs of
  everyoneconcerned
• Tries to maximize benefits for all
• The individual is never sacrificed
• Emphasis on empathy and compassion
• Resolve situations through personal relationships
• Less concerned with securing rights
• In criminal justice, represented by
  rehabilitation instead of punishment
• Peacemaking justice (Braswell and Gold)
• Connectedness with each other and the Earth
• Caring for each other
• Mindfulness of others when making decisions

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Ethical systemEgoism

• Everything that contributes to individualhappines
  s is good
• Individual comes before everything else
• Psychological egoism
• Humans naturally egoistic, unnatural to be
  otherwise
• Even running into a burning building is egoistic
• Enlightened egoism
• Treat others in a way that you would want to be
  treated and you will benefit in the long term
• Selflessness and altruism are actually egoistic
  because they give self-satisfaction
• Individuals should focus on the long term
• Basis for capitalism

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Miscellaneous ethical systems and concepts

• Imperative principle
• Act according to a fixed rule
• Utilitarian principle
• Compares good and bad consequences
• Generalization principle
• What would happen if everyone acted this way?
• Absolutism / Universalism
• Absolutism If something is wrong, its always
  wrong
• Universalism Rules apply to everyone,
  everywhere.
• If rules dont always apply to everyone, why
  should people conform?
• Relativism
• No moral absolutes - what is good depends on
  individuals and groups
• Cultural relativism
• What is good is that which contributes to the
  health and survival of a society (e.g., depending
  on resources, euthanasia of elderly can be OK)
• Definition of criminal behavior varies across
  societies

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Ethical systemSituational Ethics

• Attempt to reconcile relativism andabsolutism
• Hinmans moral pluralism
• There are basic principles of right and wrong
• These principles can be applied to ethical
  dilemmas moral issues
• Different results in different situations
• Situational ethics applies basic ethical
  principles to resolve moral dilemmas
• Adjusts according to the impact on all concerned
• Example - arranged marriages may be OK if all
  agree and motives are consistent with care for
  the individual
• Very close to
• Rule-based utilitarianism
• Flexible application of Kants categorical
  imperative
• Consistent with ethics of care
• Consistent with the golden rule

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Resolve this ethical dilemma

• While on patrol you pull over a car that is
  weaving all over the road. You walk up to the
  drivers side and discover the driver is your
  future father-in-law. He is drunk as a skunk.
  Your wedding is (was?) in three days.
• Use the process on the next slide to resolve the
  dilemma.
• What should you do?

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Analyzing ethical dilemmas

• Critical thinking is key
• Separate facts from concepts
• Identify underlying assumptions
• Process
• Identify the facts. What happened? What is known?
• Identify relevant values (e.g., loyalty, duty,
  honesty, fairness) and concepts (e.g., due
  process, proportionality, equality)
• Identify all moral dilemmas for each person
  involved. Be sure to identify relevant laws,
  agency regulations, professional codes and
  workplace standards.
• Decide on the most immediate moral or ethical
  issue
• Use an ethical system or other means to resolve
  the ethical or moral dilemma

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Key ethical systems - review

• Ethics of Virtue (Aristotle)
• People not born good but become good by following
  a moral exemplar
• Focus on character - not acts
• Natural Law
• Morality is part of the natural order there are
  universal rights and wrongs
• What is good is what conforms to the natural
  order of things (e.g. preserving life)
• Religion
• Moral guidelines for how to live ones life.
  Gods will is beyond question.
• Ethical formalism (Kant)
• Concerned only with the nature of an act, not its
  consequences
• Categorical imperative Could an act become a
  rule of nature? If so, it is good
• Utilitarianism (Bentham and Mill)
• Measures an acts goodness according to its
  consequences
• Purpose to produce the greatest benefit for all
  concerned - the best ratio of good to evil
• Ethics of care
• What is good meets the needs of everyone. But the
  individual is never sacrificed.
• Emphasis on empathy and compassion
• Situational ethics
• Attempt to reconcile relativism and absolutism