Ethics in Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Ethics in Criminal Justice - Essay Example When one thinks of ethics and the attorney, it is nearly always theorized that the defense attorney bends/breaks the most ethical/moral rules. However, this could not be further from the truth. In effect, the defense attorney has a very clear function; to represent the accused and seek to have the accused acquitted or at the very least to have his/her sentence diminished. What is more, the moral and ethical responsibility in performing this job lies in the fact that regardless of the guilt or the nature of the crime, it is the attorney’s role to defend the client in all matters. Therefore, in order to perform such a function in an ethical and moral way, the attorney must actively engage to work for the benefit of those he/she represents. A complicating ethical/moral factor for the defense attorney lies in the fact that he/she may be working to set free a criminal that should be forced to serve a sentence for the crime they have perpetrated. Furthermore, the defense attorney faces a moral/ethical dilemma with regards to the victim and their friends/family/representatives. In attempting to lessen the sentence or acquit the accused, the defense attorney is understood to disrespect whatever loss that the victim’s family/friends may have experienced. Therefore, actively working to undermine the sense of closure that effective justice might bring these parties further complicates the roles and responsibilities of the defense attorney. Similarly, the prosecuting attorney has the much more ethically/morally complicated job. This is due to the fact that the prosecuting attorney is tasked with seeking to indemnify all those cases that come before him/her. Secondly, the ethical/moral responsibility and conviction of the prosecutor is further blurred by the fact that the state/entity that they represent may likely be willing to lessen or reduce a given sentence regardless