Competency
In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:
Describe best practices used in discretionary decision making
Scenario
You are the public representative of a rape victim’s family. The judge ordered a jail sentence of six months with a lifetime registration as a sex offender for the defendant. The family is not satisfied with the judge’s ruling. You have been asked to write a memo to be submitted to the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee. Using the full scenario and the template (both linked in the Supporting Materials section), compose a memo regarding the actions and discretionary decisions made by the judge.
Directions
You will be creating a written memo to submit to the head of the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee. Your memo should have all sections identified and should address all of these required elements:
Explain parts of the decision-making process in which discretion can be applied in accordance with law and policy. Answer the following questions in your explanation:
What laws or policies may influence criminal justice professionals (in this scenario, the judge) to reach decisions in the stages of the criminal justice process (arrest, indictment, conviction)?
How does discretion impact the decisions made in accordance with law and policy?
Analyze discretionary decisions made by criminal justice professionals. Address the following in your analysis:
What decisions were made by the judge?
Who is affected by the decisions?
Do they have negative or positive impacts?
Identify specific steps in the discretionary decision-making process that may lead to negative and legal impacts. Address the following in your identification:
What are the specific steps in the discretionary decision-making process that may lead to negative impacts?
Could the judge have done anything differently in any specific step to have made a positive impact?
Describe the role discovery plays in the decision-making documentation process.
What role did discovery play in this process?
Which step in the decision-making process does discovery fall under?
What to Submit
To complete this project, you must submit the following:
Memo to the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee
Using the scenario and template linked in the Supporting Materials section, create a written memo regarding the judge and practices used in discretionary decision making. The statement should address the rubric criteria listed above: discretion, law, and policy; analyzing discretionary decisions; impacts of steps in the decision-making process; and discovery.
Your submission should be a 2- to 3-page Word document with 12-point Times New Roman font, double spacing, and one-inch margins. Any sources should be cited according to APA style.