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Dq 1 and 2Dq 1There are a few ethical dilemmas that arises during the process of plea bargaining. One of the mainissues I notice is that oftentimes one individual ofoffered a plea if he or she offers up information that could convict another individual. Is it ethical to ask one individual to "rat out" another to save investigators from providing proofin some other way? Another ethical issue that occurs is when an individual gives up his or her right to judgement by his or her peers. In this country we are all allowed that option, and if an individualfeels forced into accepting a plea deal strictly to save time and money, is that fair?Deontological thinking focuses on the act and if the act was done with thehopes of a good outcome, but the outcome was negative instead, the act is still ethical, because of theintentions it was committed with. This would suggest that criminals could insist that their actions were good-natured but something went wrong in the process. Teleological thinking believes that an act is committed and the outcomeis judged. If the outcome is good, the act isethical, if the outcome is bad, the act is unethical. I believe that ethical formalism is the best way to handle this dilemma. If an individual's ethics are questioned, and a decision made that decision should stand true for all others placed in the same situation. Ethical formalism states that moral actions are universal. If someone whom I loved was injured or traumatizedin some manner by a criminal, I would want that individual to stand trial and have the maximum punishment inflicted on that individual...so according to ethical formalism (part of the deontological way of thinking) this should be the case for all individuals, no other individual should get a lesser sentence. It may not be the most economical or time friendly, but if time and money were not an issue with the judicial system, it is the route I would take.Dq 2It is my personal belief that not all judges can be 100% unbiased. I grew up ina small town (about 30-50 thousand people), thereone judge. This man was well liked in the community and his legal work was respected; reasons he waselected to the position. Over time this man knew all of the police officers, sheriff's deputies,lawyers, a majority of the community members, etc.Because this individual had been a part of the legal community for years, hehad developed friendshipsand loyalties...which could create a bias. Biases, no matter how small, can impact a case.What if a judge had a family member who had been killed by a drunk driver?Would that judge be a able to try a drunk-driving case without bias? Itis my belief that he or she wouldn't.The main ethical issue that arises if a judge is unbiased is if the individual whois facing the judge is being treated fairly. If a judge has a friendship with the defendant's lawyer, is thedefendant more likely to "win?" It would be interesting to see if there are any studies that look into this type of


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