Ethics and Criminal Justice: An Introduction by John Kleinig (English) Paperback

Publisher Description

This textbook looks at the main ethical questions that confront the criminal justice system - legislature, law enforcement, courts, and corrections - and those who work within that system, especially police officers, prosecutors, defence lawyers, judges, juries, and prison officers. John Kleinig sets the issues in the context of a liberal democratic society and its ethical and legislative underpinnings, and illustrates them with a wide and international range of real-life case studies. Topics covered include discretion, capital punishment, terrorism, restorative justice, and re-entry. Kleinig's discussion is both philosophically acute and grounded in institutional realities, and will enable students to engage productively with the ethical questions which they encounter both now and in the future - whether as criminal justice professionals or as reflective citizens.

Author Biography

John Kleinig is Director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics and Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Law and Police Science, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and he holds the Charles Sturt University Chair of Policing Ethics in the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Australian National University.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. Criminalization: 1. Civil society: its institutions and major players; 2. Crime and the limits of criminalization; 3. Constraints on governmental agents; Part II. Policing: 4. Tensions within the police role; 5. The burdens of discretion; 6. Coercion and deception; Part III. Courts: 7. Prosecutors: seeking justice through truth?; 8. Defence lawyers: zealous advocacy?; 9. The impartial judge?; 10. Juries: the lamp of liberty?; Part IV. Corrections: 11. Punishment and its alternatives; 12. Imprisonment and its alternatives; 13. The role of correctional officers; 14. Re-entry and collateral consequences.

Review

'… an outstanding exploration of the tensions that arise between the demands of ordinary morality and the special duties that govern the behavior of various practitioners in criminal justice in virtue of their institutional roles. … I recommend it to non-specialists who hope to be brought up to speed on a set of issues with which they are unfamiliar. Academics and non-academics alike can profit greatly by thinking about the myriad topics examined by Kleinig. … Many fine introductions to criminal justice are available, but no competing book rivals Ethics and Criminal Justice in the depth of philosophical sophistication it devotes exclusively to the ethical issues that govern the behavior of criminal justice practitioners. Kleinig demonstrates what can happen when an excellent philosopher turns his attention to the real world of criminal justice.' Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
'The writing has a care and clarity which places it firmly in the English-speaking tradition of philosophical ethics over the last 70 years. No generalisation remains unqualified, no argument lacks its counter-argument. … The primary use of this book will be for students, but anyone wishing to think through ethical issues in criminal justice will find it a useful and honest exposition of the liberal democratic (but realistic) ethical standpoint which continues largely to define the parameters of policy debate.' Prison Service Journal

Promotional

This book shows students the main ethical questions that confront the criminal justice system, illustrated by a range of case studies.

Review Quote

"...this book is an interesting and easy to read introduction to the ethical dilemmas prompted by the criminal justice system that is likely to generate vivid discussions in the classroom. The tension between security and liberty recently emphasized by the "war on terror," as well as the security concerns that an increasing number of societies face around around the world, make it also a timely contribution. In particular, the book can be an excellent complement in a course on judicial politics and judicial institutions that usually do not consider, or barely, ethical issues regarding the behavior of actors who populate the institutions of the justice system." --Julios Rios-Figueroa, Division de Estudios Politicos, CIDE, Carretera Mexico-Toluca.

Promotional "Headline"

This book shows students the main ethical questions that confront the criminal justice system, illustrated by a range of case studies.

Description for Bookstore

This book shows students the main ethical questions that confront the criminal justice system - legislature, law enforcement, courts, and corrections - and those who work within that system, especially police officers, prosecutors, defence lawyers, judges, juries, and prison officers. Illustrated with a range of real-life case studies showing the theories in action.

Description for Library

This book shows students the main ethical questions that confront the criminal justice system - legislature, law enforcement, courts, and corrections - and those who work within that system, especially police officers, prosecutors, defence lawyers, judges, juries, and prison officers. Illustrated with a range of real-life case studies showing the theories in action.

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