Introduction
Learning through social interaction
Individuals acquire behavior by observing people around them which leads them to copy both positive and negative habits of their social circles. When growing up, children tend to learn behaviors from individuals around them including their parents. As a result, adolescents who have delinquent parents are more likely to grow up to be criminals. Victims of mistreatment by their caretakers are more likely to become offenders themselves. Consequently, delinquents with criminal parents are more prone to commit crimes at an alarming frequency. Basic or personal groups, like family and friends, have a significant impact on what people understand and choose to adopt.
Apart from past criminality, affiliation with criminal associates is the strongest indicator of criminality. Reinforcements also aid in acquiring certain behaviors. This explains why some areas may be more prone to criminal activities than others. If criminal behavior is constantly rewarded and seldom punished, it is likely to contribute more criminal activities as it has a high probability of being repeated. This is especially true if the settings of the crime are similar to the previous ones and that the perpetrator was rewarded. Conversely, positive behavior is reinforced by rewards, it will encourage good habits and discourage criminal behavior. In light of this, environments should be well considered in bringing up children. Also, positive behavior should be constantly rewarded and negative behavior should be punished.
The supposition of Pressure and Stress
There could be a wide range of cultural pressures that contribute to illegal behavior. People, who are under societal expectations but are faced with a situation like loss of status or a shortage of a well-informed education, are more likely to commit crimes. It is because failure to achieve one’s goals is regarded to be a fundamental motive of criminal behavior. People earning less than the poverty threshold, for instance, are unable to achieve common, accepted societal goals by lawful methods. As a result, they are compelled to engage in illegal activities to accomplish goals. This explains why rich neighborhoods may tend to victimize a poor person in a crime-related scene. The poor or straining person is seen to already have a motive to commit a crime.
Numerous people in the United States aspire for economic growth, which is seen as essential to maintaining a positive image in a capitalist and consumerist environment. Even though hard work and education can assist individuals in achieving middle or upper-class status, not everybody has access to education or well-paid jobs. Overall socioeconomic status of a person is influenced by factors such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, and cultural influences. Those who are unable to improve their social status experience stress, which may lead them to engage in bad habits such as stealing, fraud, or selling products on the black market to get money.
Legal Theory
Restorative Justice
This is a jurisprudence approach in which one of the responses to a amend an offense is to arrange a meeting between the offender and victim, usually with civic leaders. The goal is for the disputing parties to discuss what happened, who was harmed, and how they are being affected, and reach a deal on what the perpetrator can do to compensate for the damage. This could include a monetary payment from the culprit to the victim, genuine apologies, restitution, and other actions to compensate victims and discourage the offender from injuring others in the future. The purpose of this kind of arrangement is to get criminals to take accountability for their conduct, comprehend the harm they have inflicted, provide them a chance at redemption, and prevent them from doing so again.
The victims on the other hand get a say in the compensation process and they are relieved of the emotions of worry and helplessness. Restorative justice is founded on a different approach from classical justice, which is often based on revenge. Restorative interventions, however, are used to supplement traditional procedures. This proves that there is more to achieving justice than just adopting the traditional vengeance technique of justice.
Legal Positivism
This school of thought insists that genuine judicial decisions are based on written rules, regulatory requirements, and guidelines that are expressly legislated by a government body or political entity. In this notion, there is no regard for morality, a sense of right or wrong: only what is written down or explicitly enacted by the lawful bodies. Legal positivism helps to clarify the law by firmly attaching its essence to written decisions made by government agencies that are equipped with the legal competence to control distinct sectors of society and behaviours. If a concept, rule, ordinance, judgment, verdict, or other legislation is acknowledged by a lawfully constituted government entity or official, then it qualifies as law.
Furthermore, if a cognitive and behavioral norm is enforced by someone not duly authorized by a governmental body or official, the norm would not be an eligible law. This is regardless of the number of people that follow the norm. For instance, if a teacher writes a poster restricting the use of certain facilities in the school, students are obliged to follow regardless of whether they agree or not. This is because the teachers have authority vested in them to enact such rules and oblige the student to follow.
Ethics
Failing to Keep in Touch with Clients
Constant delays, inferior work, and irreversible harm to clients can all occur from failing to respond effectively and swiftly to their concerns. While neglecting clients can be the consequence of a lawyer’s deliberate activities, it is more typically the result of competing priorities, defective notetaking systems, and mental health issues that drive errors. A client plays a critical role in the survival of a law firm. For this reason, they need to be regularly updated on the developments of their cases. If they reach out on matters that the legal representative may not have an immediate answer to, the legal personnel is supposed to assure the client that they will look into the matter, and give them time estimates of when they will get the answer ready. To avoid forgetting, it is important to set a reminder for the issue and research on it.
A silence that is uncalled for, creates distrust from the client and the level of confidence in the representative or legal firm might go down. It is good to ensure that the client is reasonably kept up-to-date with the information regarding the case. This also depicts competence on the part of the legal body.
Solicitation
Solicitation regards targeting a particular client with an advertisement of the legal services offered. This is a good way to market the lawyers to potential clients. Some critics, however, outline that solicitation can be misused as the legal representatives may include false information on the advertisement. This kind of action is aimed at luring the client to make a preference for the representative but it is wrong since the client will be misled into making the wrong decision based on lies.
In this light, the lawyer, for instance, should refrain from promising certain outcomes of a case beforehand. This is wrong because it may raise the client’s hope and later when the promise is not delivered, the client may end up losing faith in the legal system. In the long run, such decisions will haunt the firm and the legal practitioner. To avoid such traps, the lawyers should be genuine with themselves and with the client in promising what they can deliver. In cautioning on solicitation also, a lawyer is restrained from using a client’s testimonials to gain preference from another client. If reported with false solicitation, the individual is liable to a jail term and a fine.
Juvenile Justice
Rising Formation of Youth Gangs
We are products of our environments and we tend to reflect what we live around. Teenagers are vulnerable to gang recruitment because they do not possess the mental maturity to understand the repercussions of such decisions. When youths are exposed to environments that have people who commit crimes and are constantly rewarded for it, they are likely to emulate their behaviours. Conversely, when youths associate with members of a certain group, they tend to form a connection with the groups and feel indebted to the members.
To show allegiance, the adolescents may engage in similar behaviours to what the group members are doing. They also follow group habits in seek for approval from their fellow peers. This is especially heightened when the youths see tangible benefits of associating with such groups. Occasionally, the youths may even try to justify certain actions although they initially believed they were wrong. With this in mind, gang recruiters target youths to join their criminal gangs and forge their delinquent motives. This explains why more youths are likely to join gangs especially in the recent past that is crowned by social media pressure to maintain a certain lifestyle.
Enforcing Continued Change in Juveniles
The teenage brain is still under development and is particularly vulnerable to incentives and peer pressure and develops at a different rate depending on the teenage. While research has progressed in its comprehension of proper adolescent development, there are still gaps in knowledge of adolescent development and the elements that lead to juvenile delinquency. This calls for a more comprehensive understanding of teenage brain development, as well as efficient use of data and evaluation tools to initiate systematic reform.
Since youths learn from their surroundings, juveniles who have been subjected to a variety of social concerns are more likely to persist down a path of delinquency. This is particularly true if they are confined in a containment chamber together with other delinquents. This is why teenagers and underage offenders should be confined in separate juvenile facilities. Instead of consistently punishing juveniles, they should be treated in a more considerate manner. This could involve encouragement of good behaviour and recognition for good deeds. Since teenagers are still learning, they are likely to pick up good behaviours when they are reinforced, rather than constantly treating them harshly without giving them alternatives to adopt.
Constitutional History
Freedom of expression
Freedom of expression refers to the ability to publicly express one’s opinions or ideas through any of the different means of communication available. The concepts stated, nonetheless, should not be utilized to purposefully damage another person’s reputation or status by presenting baseless or ambiguous assertions. Concepts can be communicated through speech, written text, and artwork. Freedom of expression, unlike freedom of thought, can be controlled by appropriate authorities in a specific community to minimize individual disputes.
The issue of freedom of expression is indeed contentious, particularly when it comes to political issues. A jurisdiction is thought to have the authority to prevent people from forming organizations to share their perspectives if those views can cause actual harm to others. Interference, on the other hand, would constitute an exception if it yielded better outcomes than keeping away. To be able to predict whether a gain or loss would occur, one must have complete freedom of expression on all subjects, regardless of the nature of the thoughts expressed. This calls for all parties to understand their rights and exercise them with the caution not to harm others.
Due Process Rights
Legal concerns should be dealt with in line with best practices and values, and all persons must be treated equally. Due process applies to all litigation. Citizens in the United States feel that their fundamental constitutional rights should be enforced equitably to everyone. This identifies how citizens anticipate engaging with their governments. Due process is guaranteed in the United States under the constitutional amendments. Governments, in this case, are banned from depriving a person’s rights in the absence of the due process of law. For instance, the federal government is not allowed to seize private property without giving notice or reimbursement.
However, the federal government has the right to utilize executive authority if it intends to use a piece of land to construct a highway. This, however, means that it will have to pay a fair compensation amount for the land. Also, before making an arrest, the police refer to this notion and must read the rights to the suspect before taking them in custody. For legal personnel, due process of the law is key in establishing a common ground of mutual understanding between all parties.
Conclusion
Criminal justice involves aspects of establishing fair play for all parties involved. In law, decision-makers are presented with several theories which act as a point of reference in carrying out their tasks. Some of the theories, including criminological theories and legal theories have been analyzed in this paper. The most prominent concept of all these theories, is the element of impartiality for both the victim and the assailant.
Additionally, ethical concerns also guide decision-making in the field of law. Two of such concerns have been outlined above and they advocate for truthfulness in advertising one’s legal prowess and maintaining regular communication with the clients. Juvenile justice has also been analyzed, and minors cannot be left to make legal decisions on their own since their brains are still developing. For this reason, they need to be protected from harsh environments that teach them criminal behaviors. Finally, the constitution as the guiding principle needs to be respected and obeyed.