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Discretion in the Legal System
Discretion arises any time an actor in the criminal justice system has a choice about how to treat a suspect. At a very basic level, even witnesses to crimes exercise discretion, because they choose whether or not to report those crimes. Crime victims exercise discretion, by choosing whether or not to pursue prosecution. However, the discretion most people consider when looking at the criminal justice system is that discretion exercised by police officers, prosecutors, juries, and judges, which determines the fate of an accused in the criminal justice system. Police officers determine whether to arrest a suspect, and, in the case of lesser crimes, whether or not to initiate charges against the suspect. Prosecutors determine whether to prosecute a suspect, and the crime with which the defendant will be charged. Judges and juries exercise discretion regarding guilt, but also in terms of sentencing. All of these factors significantly impact an accused.
"A criminal justice system is a mirror in which a whole society can see the darker outlines of its face. Our ideas of justice and evil take on visible form...
When one examines the American criminal justice system, this reality becomes painfully clear. A society that, as a whole, values brown skin less than white skin can be expected to have higher rates of incarceration of brown people, and the United States meets those expectations. There is tremendous discrimination in the criminal justice system, and it is difficult to say whether the discrimination is systemic or the result of wrongly-applied discretion. In fact, the definition of criminality, of deviance, is, in and of itself, a form of discretion. It actually appears to be a combination of both factors. However, it becomes clear that, as a group, when people in positions of power in the criminal justice system are allowed to exercise discretion, they do so in a discriminatory manner.
To many people, including the Supreme Court, discretion is one of the solutions to discrimination in the criminal justice system. For example, capital punishment schemes are only approved if they permit a certain level of discretion for the judge and jury; there are no mandatory capital punishment statutes allowed. This is so that a fact finder can consider an individual defendant before pronouncing a sentence. The problem is…
Works Cited
Carl, J. Think Sociology 2011, 2E. CITY: Pearson, 2010.
Discretionary Situations for a Police Chief Discretion in the Police Department Discretionary Situations in Criminal Arrests: "Stop" and "Frisk," Racial Profiling The expectation is that public administrators apply a balancing act in the decision making process. Focus for this study is on law enforcement administrators, especially police chiefs, on their responses to their officers' discretion to criminal arrests. The argument put forth is that police discretion is limited by managerial and information technology
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Disadvantages of police discretion The blanket use of discretion can result in repressive tactics being utilized against suspected criminals. If the police department refrains from guiding and controlling the use of this authority, abuses as well as extreme disparities can occur. Where, various individuals could become corrupted from the large amounts of authority they are given. As they could begin seeking out special favors (bribes / kickbacks) or they could use
This alternative essentially redistributes some of the power within the department in order to facilitate more successful service in individual communities. This clearly makes discretion appropriate based on the individual needs of the community. Police Chiefs need to develop "new concepts to better satisfy the demands and needs of the citizens they serve," and as such, may have to use discretion in how the approach and interact with unique
Therefore, it does not seem logical that a police department could exist without at least some form of discretionary decision-making. Discretion is used at just about every level of a police department, from the officers on patrol to detectives and even management. Another expert notes, "Police encounter a wide range of behaviors and a variety of situations that the law hasn't even thought about yet. One of the most amazing
Classification of Federal Agencies: The Administrative Procedure Act is regarded as one of the most significant legislations because it focuses on establishing rules and regulations with which federal regulatory agencies enforce major legislative acts. The act governs the functioning of various federal agencies either directly or indirectly resulting in a huge impact on the lives of millions of people who are influenced by the agencies every day. This legislation has