Crime: T/C: Extent to whcih law reflects moral & ethical standards

Question 1

what is the CJS strongly linked to?

Answer 1

society’s moral and ethical conduct/standards

Question 2

What shapes all areas of criminal law?

Answer 2

an individual’s & society’s moral & ethical viewpoints

Question 3

Why might people break the law?

Answer 3

because of moral, ethical, religious & political viewpoints.

Question 4

What groups in society would have different moral & ethical standards to the majority?

Answer 4

Some religious groups & criminal gangs.

Question 5

what parties in a criminal trial could have moral and ethical differences causing conflict?

Answer 5

the victim may believe the sentence is too lenient, despite the judge taking into account mitigating factors.

Question 6

how are moral & ethical standards reflected in the CIP?

Answer 6

providing bail
suspects rights(detention & interrogation, 8hrs max for adults, privacy, right to lawyer & communication, can’t use involuntarily given evidence)
special provisions for vulnerable suspects

Question 7

what rights do Western democracies highly value?

Answer 7

civil & political rights which are protected by law to a large extent

Question 8

morality definition

Answer 8

conformity to the rules of right conduct

Question 9

ethics definition

Answer 9

relating to or dealing with morals or right & wrong conduct

Question 10

how are people’s moral & ethical values influenced?

Answer 10

conditioning from a young age from parents & educational institutions.

Question 11

do most people obey laws because of the direct consequences or because they don’t want to harm society?

Answer 11

because of the direct consequences

Question 12

do most people who break the law believe they are harming society?

Answer 12

no

Question 13

what does the criminal law reflect?

Answer 13

the moral & ethical values of the society in which they are developed

Question 14

public morality

Answer 14

societal based, forming basis of our legal system

Question 15

is the framework for public morality fixed?

Answer 15

no, it`s constantly changing

Question 16

private morality

Answer 16

relates to values ethics held by individuals & determines what individual considers right/wrong

Question 17

what can happen when there is a conflict between public & private morality?

Answer 17

the law can be broken

Question 18

what is an important point to discuss when talking about the extent to which law reflects moral & ethical values?

Answer 18

it is hard to determine exactly what these values are, it could be possibly gauged from mass media, but this is too, flawed. The media portray images and attitudes that are sensational and often far removed from the reality of most members of society.

Question 19

What are the 1st qs to ask when discuss when talking about the extent to which law reflects moral & ethical values

Answer 19

What standards are the laws expected to uphold?

Do we expect the law to regulate public morality as well as protecting property and ensuring personal safety?

Question 20

What is the 2nd q to ask when discuss when talking about the extent to which law reflects moral & ethical values

Answer 20

Does the law respond effectively to changes in community attitudes?

Question 21

What is the 3rd q to ask when discuss when talking about the extent to which law reflects moral & ethical values

Answer 21

Are those people charged with making, interpreting and enforcing the law really in touch with the community they are there to represent?

Question 22

What is an issue with judges trying to reflect society’s moral & ethical standards?

Answer 22

many are perceived to be too removed from actual society and many come from wealthy backgrounds in contrast to the majority of the accused from poor backgrounds. case of Robert Hall shows this,

Question 23

What is an issue with judges trying to reflect society’s moral & ethical standards?

Answer 23

many are perceived to be too removed from actual society and many come from wealthy backgrounds in contrast to the majority of the accused from poor backgrounds. case of Robert Hall shows this.

Question 24

Whilst judges may not always reflect society’s moral & ethical standards what is another way of ensuring that they are recognised in through law?

Answer 24

community standards are most commonly reflected by the political decisions made by governments. The electoral power of the public is an extremely powerful force for influencing the legal system.

Question 25

Why did Australia outlaw capital punishment and treat young offenders better?

Answer 25

it no longer reflected community standards

Question 26

how are moral & ethical standards passed on?

Answer 26

education

Question 27

what is the best method of social crime prevention in educating children about society’s moral & ethical standards?

Answer 27

education about why laws are est, how they function & why certain acts are illegal

Question 28

even though education is a powerful tool in educating people about society’s moral & ethical standards, what hinders its power?

Answer 28

morals & ethics of certain groups,

social & economic disadvantage makes it hard to break cycle of crime

Question 29

Does the fact that innocent people held on remand have no right to financial compensation have any implications for the extent to which the law reflects moral & ethical standards

Answer 29

yes, it conveys the difficulty in attempting to balance the rights of individuals in society, showing that even though standards may be high, they are not fully recognised in the law.
Yes, it doesn’t reflect moral/ethical standards as they aren’t really presumed innocent, but, it recognises & protects rights of victims & possibly creates safer society.

Question 30

Does charge negotiation reflect moral & ethical standards & what might it struggle with?

Answer 30

sometimes. The legal system may struggle to balance a fair conviction w. wider community standards due to variegated moral & ethical standards held across society

Question 31

how do partial and complete defences challenge society’s moral & ethical standards?

Answer 31

Raises the Q of moral & ethical values as justice was not achieved for the victims. By providing excuses to justify criminal behaviour, effectiveness of justice may be limited drastically. This has engendered extensive debate in society.

Question 32

does prison overpop reflect moral & ethical standards?

Answer 32

no