Multicultural and Ethical Issues Dealing with the Court Systems - Article Example

Multicultural and ethical issues dealing with the court systems The criminal justice system of any nation is a reflection of that country’s approach towards cultural tolerance, the society we live in, as well as that of the issues faced by its citizens in present times. The criminal justice system in America depicts the widespread public sentiment and social trends which has grown to be highly multi-ethnic and multi-cultural in nature. The trend in crime and criminal activities have hence, also taken a multi-cultural turn, pushing the advocates of justice to make and implement laws to address the rapidly changing society. For instance, many developed countries have seen a drastic increase in immigrant population from all over the globe, giving rise to a range of controversial issues and circumstances, and crimes related to the same. Multicultural issues within the field of criminal justice systems have recently gained widespread popularity and interest. The study of multicultural issues within the field of law, presents an opportunity for the policy makers to study the changes in society from a legal and cross-cultural perspective and accordingly shape laws based on the experiences and knowledge thus gained. The knowledge regarding multicultural issues helps in forming robust and effective laws, since it affords the law makers the ability to view such issues from a broad and global perspective, which is essential and a pre-requisite for the formation of an efficient justice system. An in-depth study of such issues provides a wider perspective and helps the law makers to address a wide variety of multi-cultural issues in a better manner (Jowell, 1998). One of the key reasons for the growing multi-cultural population in the United States is the sudden influx of immigrants from across the globe, particularly over the past two decades. This has given rise to a serious need to revive the existing concerns which are specific to multicultural populations such as issues related to discrimination, hate crimes, bias against culturally and ethnically diverse populations, mental and health issues with regard to such population etc among several others. The changing demographics has compelled the law makers to address diverse issues related to the migrant groups, which entail effective understanding of the issues faced by them and appropriate and timely interventions and strategies (Camarota, 2007). The percentage of both legal and illegal immigrants in the United States has increased drastically over the years. The administration and the legal/ justice system in the country is hence faced with varied challenges concerning this group. The issue of illegal immigrants within the multi-cultural population has given rise to a range of other issues such as legal issues concerning human trafficking etc (Chung et al., 2008). Furthermore there are various researches conducted over the years which suggest that the issue of illegal immigrants is likely to grow, with approximately one million people entering the United States annually (Migration Information Resource, 2010). Thus, considering such an alarming trend, it can be safely predicted that the concerns regarding multicultural social justice are likely to grow further. In order to effectively deal with the same, it is of utmost significance for the law makers to chart out effective laws and policies to deal with and address such issues beforehand, and pave way for the existence of a peaceful and harmonious race relations. Issues such as cultural intolerance and xenophobia lead to a range of psychosocial issues among the immigrant and multicultural population. Such issues mainly arise on account of ignorance related to such populations and stereotypical beliefs and myths concerning them (Bemak & Chung, 2008; Prendes-Lintel & Peterson, 2008; Short et al., 2010; Marsella & Ring, 2003). The key issues faced by multicultural population include Racism, racial intolerance and xenophobia which interfere with the legal system and the peace making process initiated by the legal bodies. In order to successfully help the migrant population to assimilate effortlessly within the society, the implementation of efficient laws is a pre-requisite. This entails breaking of cultural stereotypes associated with the multi-cultural groups, addressing issues related to employment, legal and illegal immigrants, eliminating misconceptions and ensuring fair and equitable use of national resources by all sections of the population (Chung et al., 2008). Furthermore it must also be ensured by the law makers that the laws implemented by them promote and address issues related to social and economic security, and prevent improper use of public resources (Chung et al., 2008; Short et al, 2010; Yakusho, 2009). It has been widely observed through past research that people belonging to multicultural backgrounds such as Asians and Latino Americans are often misconstrued as illegal immigrants or Arabs are often misconstrued as terrorists which is mainly on account of the cultural stereotypes, promoted knowingly/unknowingly through popular media such as films and television (Wu, 2002). Such wrongful misrepresentation of people belonging to diverse cultural backgrounds further leads to the rise in need for stringent laws which tend to protect and safeguard the multicultural populations against such widespread bias within the society against them (Chung et al., 2008). However the formation of laws based on such issues and seeking to address issues related to protection of multicultural populations and prevent illegal immigration have been faced with severe criticism in the past. For instance, the immigration law SB 1070 formed and implemented by the Arizona state which aimed at addressing issues related to racial profiling was criticized severely for its non-aversion to prevent and in fact legalize the harassment of people belonging to Hispanic communities with regard to their legal status (Kennedy, 2010). Ethics within the Criminal Justice System: To live ethically is to think about things beyond one’s own interests. When I think ethically I become just one being, with needs and desires of my own, certainly, but living among others who also have needs and desires. —Peter Singer 1995: 174 Ethics refers to a branch of philosophy which is primarily concerned with addressing questions related to the right and wrong of our everyday actions. It entails making moral judgments, and is widely applicable in almost all areas and aspects of our lives including personal and professional. It affords us the ability to lead our lives, in a morally right manner by making decisions which are not only morally desirable but also because they are the right way to address wide ranging social and cultural issues (Singer 1995). The significance of ethics within the field of law is even greater since ethical considerations have immense significance especially with regard to decisions which entail use of discretion or force and which are required to enlighten people with regard to moral judgments. Ethical awareness enables people to question as well as reflect on the assumptions in their spheres. Questions regarding the morality of laws implemented by the criminal justice system ensure a stronger relationship between crime and justice in the long run and encourage the criminal justice system to be vigilant in their respective jobs. The study of ethics enables the criminal justice system to raise issues related to and which are integral to multicultural issues for instance, concerns which question the role of law enforcement agencies with regard to role, type and extent of punishment levied by them on the offenders, the authority of respective states in doing so, the fairness of such laws, and the effectiveness and validity of the same with regard to bringing about effective social changes. It is only through the detailed and comprehensive study of ethics within the field of law that questions can be raised regarding the credibility of laws passed by the criminal justice system and helps them in successfully defining unethical practices or behavior (Banks, 2004). The detailed understanding of the issues concerning ethics and ethical practices within law, helps in greater understanding of the skills required for implementing appropriate laws and encourages better reasoning abilities which in turn help in understanding a wide range of theoretical aspects concerning the criminal justice system in general. The understanding of ethics helps in acknowledging the differences and complexities of public actions. In the absence of such knowledge the criminal justice system cannot function effectively since it would severely limit their ability to decipher critical issues regarding ethics and lead to further dilemmas (Kleinig, 2008). Judges play an important role in shaping the criminal justice system based on their decisions and it is on account of such a position and authority enjoyed by them, within the legal system that they are subjected to additional pressure with regard to following ethical considerations. The American Bar Association for instance, has a fully developed Model Cannons of Judicial Ethics which is a system similar to code of ethics, whose key purpose is to ensure that the integrity of the court systems is maintained and preserved at all times to retain and increase public faith in the system (Gray 2003 in Neubauer & Fradella, 2010). The judges are solely responsible in retaining and sustaining the criminal justice system within the country, and hence any immoral or ethically wrong decision on their part, would reflect their lack of understanding of the subject as well as the significance of ethics within the legal system. They may further have to face public ire and criticism and the entire credibility of the judicial system may be questioned by the public. As mentioned above the courts and the criminal justice system has immense responsibility and great power to affect peoples lives significantly. Charging people wrongly not only involves unnecessary prison time for the guilty, but also involves loss of time, employment, separation from family for a long and often indefinite periods of time, and loss of reputation within the society. The wrongful conviction of an individual /innocent person or the acquittal of those who are guilty is a gross miscarriage of justice. The public may feel threatened to live and peacefully co-exist in such a society where the criminal justice system itself is highly immoral (Prenzler, 2009). The gravity of responsibility of criminal justice system can be understood in a better manner by comparing the same with that of a civil justice system. The civil courts are mainly concerned with decisions related to the property of an individual or an organization and the disputes are mostly sorted through fines or imprisonment, thus the victim in such cases is mostly the individual or organization concerned but not the entire community as is the case in case of a criminal justice system. The civil justice system can dismiss a case by enforcing monetary settlements and successfully directing the society towards the right path but the criminal court systems have the additional responsibility to ensure the safety of lives of individuals since they have the power to incarcerate people. Ethics within the criminal justice system is hence not only important but undeniable (Prenzler, 2009). References: Banks, C., (2004). Criminal justice system: theory and practice, SAGE Publication, Pp. 3-7 Bemak, F., & Chung, R. C-Y. (2008). Counseling refuges and migrants. In P.B. Pedersen, J.G.Draguns, W.J. Lonner, & J.E. Trimble (Eds.), Counseling across cultures (6th ed., pp. 307-324). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Camarota, S. A. (2007). Immigrants in the United States, 2007: A profile of America’s foreignborn population Chung, R.C-Y., Bemak, F., Ortiz, D.P., & Sandova-Perez, P.A. (2008). Promoting the mental health of migrants: A multicultural-social justice perspective. Journal of Counseling and Development, Special Issue in Multicultural and Diversity Issues in Counseling, Special Issue, 38, 310-317. Gray (2003) in Neubauer, D. W., Fradella, H. F., (2010). Americas courts and the criminal justice systems, Cengage Learning Publications, Pp. 203-205 Jowell, R. (1998). How comparative is comparative research? American Behavioral Scientist, 42, 168-177. Kennedy, H. (July 28, 2010). Arizona immigration law SB 1070 has most controversial parts blocked by federal judge. New York Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/fdcp?1290828013967. Kleinig, J., (2008). Ethics and criminal justice system: An introduction, Cambridge University Press, Pp. 12-14 Marsella, A. J., & Ring, E. (2003). Human migration and immigration: An overview. In L.L. Adler & U.P. Gielen (Eds.), Migration: Immigration and emigration in international perspectives Pp.3-22. Westport, CT: Preager. Migration Information Resource (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.migrationinformation.org/Usfocus/display.cfm?ID=723. Prenzler, T., (2009). Ethics and accountability in criminal justice: Towards a universal standard, Australian Academic Press, Pp. 77-79 Short, E.L., Suzuki, L., Prendes-Lintel, M., Prendes-Lintel Furr, G., Madabhushi, S., & Mapel, G. (2010). Counseling immigrants and refugees. In J.G. Ponterotto, J.M. Casas, L.A. Suzuki, & C.M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Pp. 201-212. Wu, F. H. (2002). Yellow: Race in America beyond Black and White. New York, NY: Basic Books. Yakushko, O. (2009). Xenophobia: Understanding the roots and consequences of negative attitudes toward immigrants. The Counseling Psychologist, 37(1), Pp. 36-66. Read More