Future Impact of Human Values on American Criminal Justice - A Viewpoint (From Future of Criminal Justice, P 1-21, 1982, Gene Stephens, ed. See NCJ-87185)

• NCJ Number: 87186
• Author(s): G Stephens
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 21 pages
• Sale Source: Anderson Publishing Co
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This essay evaluates values affecting the American criminal justice system, considers the impact of future value issues, and recommends an approach for establishing justice as a perceived value in American society and particularly the criminal justice system.

Abstract

The American criminal justice system is based in the belief that human beings are autonomous, rational, and have free will that makes them responsible for their actions. Whereas the current conservative mood in the country promises renewed reliance on free will and strict accountability for the near future, research tends to show the fallacy of the free will concept for most behavior, suggesting that the future will see new approaches for coping with deviance. Another value underlying the criminal justice system is that the law ought to be obeyed. Such a value rings hollow, however, when those who are expected to obey the law have little input into its formation. Another value involved in the implementation of American criminal justice is that ignorance of the law is no excuse; however, the increasingly complex laws being enacted and the courts' variable interpretations of the law make such a value questionable. That due process, adversarial proceedings provide fundamental fairness is another tenet of the criminal justice system, but the public has growing doubts about this, as there is support for a modified inquisitorial system. The fundamental principle that an accused is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt appears to be undermined by the extensive use of plea bargaining, where efforts are made to avoid having to prove the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Values that will be relevant to the criminal justice system in the future are likely to focus on the areas of privacy, genetic engineering, and behavioral change technology. The competitive posture of the American criminal justice system as it tries to prove the guilt or 'win' the case against a citizen is not suitable. A system that emphasizes cooperation to determine truth and arrive at the most beneficial approach to a conflict is needed. Fifteen references are provided.