ANU-PAAE8008:Criminal Justice Ethics

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

The institutions and practices of criminal justice are replete with ethical issues: law enforcement, judicial and correctional institutions require justification, and those who work within them must craft a professional ethic for the responsible fulfilment of their roles. Police must know how to exercise their discretionary authority, particularly with respect to the use of force and deception. Those involved in the work of adjudication prosecutors and defence lawyers, judges and juries, must also use their considerable powers with insight and care. The post conviction phase of the criminal justice process also poses significant ethical challenges from fundamental issues such as the justification of punishment to issues of implementation recourse to imprisonment and the conditions that should attend it. The course will offer an overview of most of the central ethical issues, but also provide opportunities for focused research on one or two topics of choice.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.