Ethics concepts and applications

14th Amendment

The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution provides equal protection for all citizens in all manners of the law, at least in theory. In practice, equal protection is not executed perfectly, but it does remain an ideal to which each section of the criminal justice system can and usually does aspire. In the criminal justice system, all defendants are entitled to an attorney, which is why a public defender is appointed to those who cannot afford an attorney of their choice. Theoretically, a public defender could offer the same caliber of legal representation as a big shot lawyer, but rarely is this actually the case. If a defendant does believe that he or she was misrepresented, then there are avenues for protest but it may be extremely difficult for an indigent individual to receive the exact parallel of legal representation as a wealthy person would. A defendant who loses a case can, for instance, appeal on the grounds of insufficient representation, but the indigent are systematically discriminated against ("Annotation 35: Fourteenth Amendment," n.d.)

Biased-based policing does exist, and is practiced largely in terms of discrimination against the poor and non-white communities. Racial profiling is often embedded into the criminal justice system on the grounds that the police are providing protection to citizens, but racial profiling is technically illegal and therefore the Constitution still would protect a defendant who might be able to prove that racial profiling was being used. Generally, though, the Fourteenth Amendment refers more to the apprehension and defense of a suspect and to the due process of law after the law enforcement stage.

The Fourteenth Amendment comes into play with important social justice issues such as Affirmative Action, too (Wieder, 2012). Affirmative Action supports the Fourteenth Amendment's principles of promoting equal protection because institutionalized racism had become too entrenched to rely on the presumed beneficence of persons unaware of its existence. We do control our actions, and should be held accountable for them, most certainly.

2. As President during such a terrible crisis, I rely on a team of valuable and expert advisers to help me in a situation such as this. The first thing I would do would be to summon my elite staff members immediately for an emergency meeting. Together, we would decide the best course of action, as I must rely on the experience and background of those trained in counter-terrorism. This is not a decision I can or will make on my own. I would also want to know whether we have a top negotiator, who could be used to talk with the terrorists. In many cases, active listening, empathy, rapport, and influence beget a behavioral change (Barker, 2014). These hostage negotiation tactics may need to be used in this situation. However, my advisers may also warn me that negotiations are not the best tactic.