Is Justice Just
It is debatable whether justice is just. The intention of having a justice system is to ensure that all people have their rights protected without prejudice. Across the world, legal systems have been given the responsibility of serving justice to the people. The extent to which the intended justice is attained is questionable. However, credit must be given to the legal system that controls the decisions made by people. The legal system imposes punishments on people who go against the law of the land. What is considered legally just, however, may not be considered socially just at all times. This is because the principles and assumptions of social justice are not always taken into account in the legal system. Therefore, there are areas in which social and legal justice move in the same direction. In other cases, they move in opposite directions. For instance, criminal law provides for the various forms of punishment that could be imposed on a person who is found guilty.
However, it continues to be clear that different judgments are made concerning different people, even though they may have committed the same form of crime. In other cases, some groups of people are seen to suffer more at the hands of the legal system than others do (Robinson 2010). For instance, Black people may be subjected to quite harsh judgments that land them in jail compared with members of the white majority who, in many cases, commit similar acts. There is a need to reconcile the Constitution with social justice. Social justice assumes that, for there to be justice, the law has to be applied equally to all people. This means that lawbreakers should suffer the same fate while law-abiding citizens should enjoy the same benefits. There should be no people who are treated better than others in the eyes of the justice system. If discrimination continues, the justice claimed in the corridors of justice cannot be considered just.
Balancing the principles in the Constitution and the reality set in the articles
To some extent, the Constitution is seen to follow a pathway in the search for justice. However, this does not happen conclusively. For this reason, there is a difference between the provisions made in the Constitution and the reality on the ground. To balance the two, the Constitution needs to be considered alongside the various principles of social justice and their respective assumptions.
First, the Constitution needs to accommodate the need to have equity in addition to equality. The Constitution provides that people should be treated equally. In addition, it claims that there should be equality in the distribution of resources for all people (Kamalu et al., 2010). However, the reality on the ground is that equality does not always lead to justice. In fact, equality requires the sharing of available resources in equal measures. However, social justice requires that resources and all other aspects be distributed based on the needs of individuals. As such, some of the provisions of the Constitution do not simply require that all people be treated and served in equal measure.
On the other hand, the Constitution needs to ensure that the diversity of the people is well respected. A country contains people from different regions as well as ethnic groups. As such, there is a need to have all of them represented in the administration of justice. However, the Constitution provides that certain languages are more common than others. By doing this, the Constitution may be interpreted as treating some people as being better than others. To balance the provisions of the Constitution and reality, there should be consideration of the requirements of all the different people in a place. For instance, there should be a provision that people from different ethnic groups can access different facilities in government places without having to speak certain languages. Therefore, there is a need to respect the fact that diversity is here to stay. It is worth appreciating that no group is better than another on the basis of color, language, or origin.
Another way of establishing a balance between reality and the provisions of the Constitution is by relating the need for a supportive environment in both cases. For instance, the Constitution states that all people have a right to live in safe environments. However, reality indicates that the ability to live in a safe environment depends on the wealth level of the respective individuals. Social justice requires that all people be treated equally and thus be able to live in safe areas and be protected from dangers. The Constitution, therefore, needs to be more elaborate in its stipulations. Otherwise, it becomes more confusing as to what justice means given all the discrimination exercised in the provision of services to people.
The role played by crime control perspective in my thinking
I feel that the crime-control perspective regarding the application of the Constitution should be just for all people. I feel that all people who commit similar crimes should be tried in the same manner and convicted in the same way. I feel, therefore, that there should be no one who is treated better than the rest when they are all accused of committing the same form of crime. For instance, if several people are arrested for stealing similar forms of commodities, they need to be arraigned in court within a similar period of time and given the same punishment when their circumstances are equivalent. If one is given a life sentence, the rest should also be punished similarly when the relevant legal circumstances are the same. This is what fairness means. A constitution is a tool that is meant to enable people to attain fairness in places where this might otherwise not be possible. The role of the Constitution is to enforce fair sentencing for culprits to prevent other people from engaging in such illegal acts.
If justice is fairly applied from the crime control perspective
To some extent, justice is applied from the crime-control perspective, but this does not happen in all cases. First, justice is applied when some people are restrained from harming others or even taking what is not theirs by force. When a thief is arrested and prosecuted, justice and fairness are served to the victim of the crime. This also serves fairness and justice to the rest of the community, as one is denied the freedom to steal and disturb the peace of other citizens (Kamalu et al., 2010). Thus, justice prevails as the right to own property, freedom of movement, and the right to life are all protected under the law. As the law applies to all people, this is fairness. The law is not selective regarding who should be prosecuted and who should not. It provides that anybody who goes against the law needs to be prosecuted to restrain such behavior in the future.
On the other hand, justice fails to be applied fairly on various occasions. This is seen from the time of arrest to the time of prosecution and delivery of a verdict. In many cases, the circumstances under which criminals are arrested differ (Robinson 2010). Some are arrested and subjected to a lot of humiliation before getting to the courts of justice. On the other hand, others are not even arrested but are asked to present themselves for interrogation. This happens even though the same crime is committed by different people. In many cases, rich people are not retained in cells, while poor people are retained for a long time before being arraigned. On the other hand, similar criminal court proceedings take different amounts of time. In both cases, the justice process takes effect. However, the process is not fair, as some suffer more than others. Justice is also not served fairly when a verdict is delivered in criminal proceedings. In many cases, suspects accused of the same crime are punished differently. For instance, some receive a few years in jail while others receive more years despite having committed a similar crime. Justice prevails at the end of the day, but not in a fair manner. Justice is, therefore, not always just.
References
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