Reflective Essay on Justice Systems

The role of a justice system in any civilized society cannot be overstated. It acts as a remedy for the misdemeanors that people are exposed to and safeguards the defenseless and powerless from undue suppression by influential members of the community. Moreover, the continuum of the court system that liaises with correctional facilities helps in reducing cases of gang violence, juvenile delinquencies, and adult recidivism. The dispensation of justice is a process that is largely done based on the precincts of existing laws thus a legitimate source of the judgment of even the most controversial cases.

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Punishment is primarily intended to foster deterrence and reduce relapse. Therefore, I find the article both intriguing and informative. I largely agree with the Michaels assertions that cast aspersions on the efficiency of the existing laws in addressing the specific issues they target. The fact that the article shows the judicial weakness in the implementation of existing legislations reduces the chances of it resolving critical issues as an arbitrator of last resort. The author clearly amplifies the fact that people who are not economically and socially able do not get fair treatments before the law. For instance, they are forced to the periphery when it comes to the issuance of sanctions despite the rhetoric that the sanctions are implemented equally for everyone in our society.

Even though the United States has the most severe punishments in comparison to other developed countries, including the capital punishment, the three strikes law, longstanding minimum penalties, and the mighty 700 per 100,000 imprison rates, uniformity is still elusive (observes (Michael, 2016). I find this exposition both startling and a pointer towards a need for transformation in the justice system by incorporating laws that respond to emerging needs. Due to this weakness and in light of how the US legal system is structured, I think that one of the reasons for the inconsistencies include the fact the most American judges and prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. These appointments of the professional jury by the political class results in the politicization of the justice process as courts tend to determine cases based on political alignments. In the practice of law, it is wrongful to make judgments based on prejudices, biases, and favoritism brought about by social or political influences.

I expressly agree with Michael that despite the revelations of the weaknesses inherent in the US judicial system, influential personalities try to maintain the status quo since such situations favor them. For instance, it is damning that even when the courts impose sanctions, their motives will always be to support financially and politically influential individuals. The basic assertions of the reading point to the reasons for the persistence of come systemic inefficiencies in the American judiciary and application of laws. Though Michael points at it only skeptically, I agree with his point that the conservative forces in the US often attempt to resist changes, but the opposition has had a significant role in implementing change. The intervention of the opposition governments to institute reforms in the judiciary has occasioned the issuance of harsher punishments or sanctions

I think that the crafters of significant policies that influence the US legal system have often undertaken to protect their selfish interests at the expense of the public for whom they should ideally work. Michael (2016) exonerates this perception by pointing out that there have been cases where some judges have faced accusations of being lenient to some offenders regarding passing judgments hence sometimes denied the jurisdictional authority to try these special individuals. In concurrence the claims of other philosophers and theorists that community members are brought together by certain punishments under certain conditions and the same set apart the level of their commitment to values that bind such a community, I think that America has tried to look for whatever means its society can best prevent delinquency. How the American society structures its laws based on majorly Christian beliefs are so much different from the way the Arab countries structure their laws according to majorly on their Muslim beliefs.

It seems prudent to conclude that whatever the attitudes that Americans have towards punishment whether retributive or corrective, there remains a lot to be expected in our justice system. The comparisons to other countries will never end, especially in effectiveness and severity levels, but the question that remains is, are our goals achieved with what we already have?

Reference

Michael T. (2016). Sentencing Fragments: Penal Reform in America, 1975-2025. New York: Oxford University Press, pdf. Retrieved from https://www.robinainstitute.umn.edu/file/931/download?token=iDXn67IG