Verified Document

Ethics And Judges Federal Judges Are Duty Essay

Ethics and Judges Federal Judges are duty bound to adhere to a system of ethics, generally referred to as the "Code of Conduct for United States Judges," which has been officially sanctioned by the Judicial Conference of the United States. This code of conduct, based on a set of ethical guidelines, has been adopted for the purpose of informing Federal judges about what conduct is expected of them so that they may exercise their judicial duties in a fair and ethical manner. It also advises judges as to their behavior outside of their judicial duties so that not only will they act in an impartial manner when adjudicating cases, but will also maintain the appearance of impartiality as well. This is especially important since many judges engage in extra-judicial activities such as lecturing, writing, teaching, etc., and must maintain their impartiality when adjudicating cases. However, in the past, judges' personal feelings were often the basis for the sentences they handed out, and as a result, many different criminals, all convicted of the same crime, received very different sentences. Because the judiciary must remain impartial and fair, in 1984, the U.S. Congress enacted the "Sentencing Reform Act of 1984," which sought to remove discretionary power from judges and set a sentencing guide model by which judges are required to follow.

It is generally accepted that there are a number of guidelines by which codes of ethics can be judged to be effective or not. These include an established set of standards and procedures which effectively reduce the chance of unethical behavior, a system of oversight, the delegation of authority to responsible people, a system of communicating its...

("Section II") The Federal judiciary has adopted a code of conduct that is based on these principles, however, it was not the Judiciary branch of government that adopted the mandatory sentencing guidelines, it was Congress. This brings up an interesting question about the ethical behavior of Federal judges before the implementation of the 1984 Sentencing Reform Act.
Because Congress was forced to enact a law that regulated the actions of judges, one must ask if the actions of the judges prior to the enactment of the law was ethical. According to the "Code of Conduct for United States Judges," Canon one states that a judge is responsible to "uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary." ("Code of Conduct for United States Judges") A judge should conform their conduct, both on the bench and off, to maintain that they do not tarnish the position of judge. Otherwise, a judge's rulings will not be seen as being fair and independent, and having possibly been influenced by an outside source. This is particularly important when comparing sentences for the same crime between judges. When different criminals receive different sentences for the same exact crimes, the integrity of judges comes into question and it appears as if the judges may have been influenced in their sentencing decisions.

The second Canon in the code of conduct for judges states that a "Judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities." ("Code of Conduct for…

Sources used in this document:
References

"Section II: The Federal Sentencing Guidelines Model." Ethics Resource Center.

Retrieved from http://fsgo.ethics.org/Section+II

"Code of Conduct for United States Judges" United States Courts. Retrieved from http://www.uscourts.gov/RulesAndPolicies/CodesOfConduct/CodeConductUnitedStatesJudges.aspx
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Ethics Interstate -35 West Mississippi River Bridge
Words: 892 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Ethics Interstate -35 West Mississippi River Bridge The collapse of the Interstate-35 West Mississippi River Bridge, which is also known as Bridge 9340, was one of the most dramatic cases of structural engineering failure in the history of the United States within the past five years. The abrupt collapse of the eight-lane structure in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 1, 2007, which killed approximately 13 people and injured upwards of over 100 travelers,

Ethics in Justice System-How We
Words: 4207 Length: 12 Document Type: Research Paper

Research also showed that offenders tend to be part of or return to communities with high concentrations of offenders. The concentration of offenders in these neighborhoods affects the community negatively by increasing the stigma associated with the community and also saddling the community with additional problems without providing added resources needed for restoring or maintaining order. The ultimate consequence is the that the criminal justice system destabilizes informal networks

Ethics and Professional Responsibility of
Words: 710 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

'" (Aspen, 1997, p.95). The primary step is to change the mindset of lawyers. They have to stop believing that they run the show and instead focus them as members of a team along with the judge to ensure that the legal system works for the innocent people in the right direction. Its important that every lawyer strikes a balance between his or her obligations to the clients and the justice

Ethics and World Religions Interpretations
Words: 3952 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Moreover the 'diyya' or blood money stipulated for killing or mutilating of a man was stopped. However, whipping as a punishment for theft and added offences remained in its applicability in local courts. (Pitaszewicz, 87) Hence till 1960, the Alkali Courts applied the Sharia also in penal cases fulfilling the changes and bans launched by the British. Prior to the declaration of independence, the British signed a negotiation with Sir

Ethics and the Military As Globalism Becomes
Words: 1395 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Ethics and the Military As globalism becomes more of a reality, and as various developing countries increase the amount of interaction they do with developed countries, many cultural issues arise. Doing business is not the same worldwide, and as citizens of a global village, we must realize that there are different cultural norms and behaviors that are acceptable in some countries, unacceptable in others, and even expected in some. In the

Ethics Treating Impaired Infants Nearly
Words: 2590 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Paper

Newborn pain is an example of an everyday occurrence where achieving neonates' interests are through making them comfortable and pain-free. As the neonatal intensive care nursery gives rise to many potentially painful procedures, a dilemma exists for caregivers in assessing if sick and/or premature infants are in pain (Nagy 1998). Although newborn pain affects the short-term interests there are possibilities that the lasting effects may also be harmful (Spence,

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now