Criminal Justice Research Paper

1727 Words4 Pages

Define the following terms:
1. Justice - Justice, as defined by the Criminal Justice Today textbook, is "The principle of fairness; the ideal of moral equity" (Schmalleger 10). Ideally, the definition of justice is composed of fairness, moral rightness, and a scheme or system of law in which every person receives his or her due from the system, including all rights, both natural and legal. Justice can also be defined as "The maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments" (Merriam-Webster). An example of justice would be someone being set free from prison after DNA evidence shows they are innocent.
2. Multiculturalism - Multiculturalism, …show more content…

The basic positions of the public order advocate involve the belief that, under certain circumstances involving criminal threats to public safety, the interests of society, especially crime control and social order, should take precedence over individual rights. By the textbook's definition a public-order advocate is "One who believes that under certain circumstances involving a criminal threat to public safety, the interests of society should take precedence over individual rights" (Schmalleger 10). To illustrate the point, public order laws would be laws which are created to stop riots, violent behavior and other activities or behaviors that can lead to serious public harm. An example of a public order law can be a law that restricts gun use in a particular area which prohibits guns from entering based on the safety of the public, however, to deny people the right to a weapon would be considered an assault on the people's individual rights. On the other hand, the basic positions of the individual-rights advocate involve the belief that personal freedoms and civil rights within society should be protected at all costs, and especially within the criminal justice process. By the textbook's definition an individual-rights advocate is "One who seeks to protect personal freedoms within the process of criminal justice" (Schmalleger 9). By way of illustration, individual rights involve protecting an individual's right to do something regardless of its potential impact on public harm. An example of an individual rights law would be the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as well as the right to bear arms, and the freedom of

Open Document