Understanding Discretion in Criminal Justice System

School: Southern New Hampshire University - Course: CJ 230 - Subject: Accounting

Kayleigh Bryant March 19, 2023 Cj 230 Module 3-2 Assignment: Elements in Discretionary Decision Making Southern New Hampshire University Professor Patrick Dawson

CJ 230 Module 3-2Assignment March 19, 2023 Elements in Discretionary Decision Making Discretion begins with the decision to label certain acts as a criminal and is followed by a series of subsequent decisions made by a series of subsequent decisions made by police officers, judges, prosecutors, and others. As a result, the objective ideal gives way to individual personal judgment, both in a collective sense and in an organizational sense. Discretion plays a vital role in all aspects of the criminal justice system, along with the basic principles of integrity and authority. Discretion is also what allows criminal justice professionals to choose how they act in different situations that arise in their careers. Because discretion is so vital to how law enforcement operates and their relationships with the public that they serve, it is imperative that they only use their discretion in a lawful fashion that operates within the moral values of their departments and not use it as an excuse to commit unlawful acts. On August 9, 2014 Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen, was killed by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson Missouri. Soon after this happened protests and riots ensued in Ferguson and then spread through the country. There are several testimonies including Wilson and Brown's friend, Donan Johnson, who was with Brown, walking in the street. Brown and Wilson then got into an altercation that resulted in Wilson shooting two rounds. Soon after Brown and Johnson then tried to leave which led to Wilson stopping his car and pursuing the gentlemen which resulted in Officer Wilson shooting at Brown 12 times resulting in 6 of them hitting Brown and killing him. After this Wilson claimed he fired in self defense. One of the witnesses states that right before Brown was killed he pleaded for Officer Wilson to not shoot. Due to this series of events Missouri had constant riots and fights around Ferguson and St Louis Missouri where no