#ethicalissues

Welcome to Ethics 101!😁

Hey there! Welcome to blog one of many that will outline numerous ethical issues within the Criminal Justice System (CJS). The criminal justice system refers to the body of courts, corrections, law enforcement, and other law-related arms that focus on dispensing justice, ensuring that laws are implemented and obeyed, and maintaining public order. The criminal justice system is built on fairness, equality, justice and good conduct thus ethics is the very foundation on which this system lies. To begin this new series of blogs, we will define a few terms and familiarize ourselves with the foundation of ethics. So, let’s get started!

What is a Code of Conduct?

This refers to the formal set of principles, rules, and standards that govern an institution, and establishes what is acceptable behaviour among its members while outlining what to do when faced with various issues or dilemmas.

 What is Ethics?

According to Pollock (2010), ethics refers to “the discipline of determining good and evil and defining moral duties”. So oftentimes we hear the word morals or morality rather than ethics, but are they really the same thing? Both morals and ethics are related, with morals and morality having to do with the principles of differentiating between right and wrong or simply judging an individual as having good conduct.

Ethical Issues vs Ethical Dilemmas

Without deep thought, one might think that ethical issues and ethical dilemmas are the same things. I shared similar thoughts, but I am here to inform you that such thoughts are a misconception. 

In fact, while they may be similar, the major difference lies in the fact that an ethical issue involves an event or situation in which there is disagreement when deciding what is the right thing to do. They can also be “social questions or policy decisions” (Pollock, 2010). According to Pollock (2010), these issues “often concern the government’s social control mechanisms and the impact on those governed”, and we will see this being highlighted throughout this blogging series.

On the other hand, ethical dilemmas refer to those decision-making situations in which the right choice is not clear, the right choice has negative consequences that should be considered, or where there the “lesser of multiple evils” must be selected. These decisions must be made by an individual or an organization and may not necessarily be based on a policy.

As citizens, we must hold ourselves accountable, and get informed so that we may be equipped to differentiate between wrong and right when faced with ethical issues or dilemmas. Members of the criminal justice system should do the same to ensure that they make the right decisions as it relates to the law. Additionally, these individuals within the CJS must use their discretion and various codes of conduct to govern their choices.  

 Educate Yourself, and Make the Right Choice! Stay Tuned for More- Zorian Clarke

 Reference

Secular Humanist Ethics and Values Versus Biblical Morals and BeliefsMany terms in this article can spark negative emotions. How would you think differently if you learned these triggers come from manipulation? What if the true meaning of these terms is very different from how you've been taught to see them? Most people recognize how social media has been used to change opinions. Those same people would agree that it is filled with misrepresentations and false information. At the same time, however, they don't believe they have been manipulated into accepting any falsehoods. In fact, they are certain that their beliefs are true and correct. Let's test these assumptions. We'll go over some definitions to clarify things. Then, we'll discuss why people often believe they are right, even when evidence says otherwise. Finally, you'll have a chance to test your own assumptions.

Ethical Issues in the Modern World

Many terms in this article can spark negative emotions. How would you think differently if you learned these triggers come from manipulation? What if the true meaning of these terms is very different from how you've been taught to see them? Most people recognize how social media has been used to change opinions. Those same people would agree that it is filled with misrepresentations and false information. At the same time, however, they don't believe they have been manipulated into accepting any falsehoods. In fact, they are certain that their beliefs are true and correct. Let's test these assumptions. We'll go over some definitions to clarify things. Then, we'll discuss why people often believe they are right, even when evidence says otherwise. Finally, you'll have a chance to test your own assumptions.

Ethical Issues in the Modern World

Ethical Issues

The legal proceedings of the Baltovich case were long and exhausting. Let’s dive into a timeline of the important events that took place…

June 19th, 1990: Elizabeth Bain disappears (1).

November 19th, 1990: Baltovich is arrested and charged with first- degree murder, despite no finding of Bain’s body (1).

February 4th, 1992: Baltovich’s first trial commences. The charge is dropped to second- degree murder in light of evidence brought forward by both the defence and the Crown (1).

March 31st, 1992: Baltovich is found guilty of second- degree murder charge, receiving a life sentence for the crime (1).

May 1992: Baltovich files an appeal with a new attorney as he believed his defence counsel in the first trial was incompetent. Baltovich also believed many ethical issues occurred in his first trial and addresses these in his formal request for an appeal (1).

May 16th, 1992: The appeal is filed with the Ontario Court of Appeal and Baltovich remains in jail until the scheduled hearing (1).

March 2000: Association in the Defence of the Wrongly Convicted agrees to take Baltovich’s case and requests release of Baltovich while his appeal is considered. By this point Baltovich had been imprisoned for over eight years. He is then released pending the appeal (1).

September 2004: Ontario Court of Appeal reviews the case and orders a new trial on the grounds that there were drastic errors in the first trial. However, they state an acquittal will not be automatically received and a jury must make a new formal decision (1).

April 2008: Second jury finds Baltovich not guilty of the new charge of second- degree murder minutes into the retrial and it is decided an inquiry into the case will not be conducted (1).

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Baltovich spent 18 years attempting to clear his name and was able to do so upon presenting a compelling case during his retrial. He presented the inadequacies of the first trial and showcased the fact that he was deprived of a fair and balanced charge/ trial.

Baltovich’s case is not the first miscarriage of justice and will certainly not be the last. The disastrous effects on Baltovich’s life from a wrongful conviction are ones that can never be undone. He spent 18 years attempting to clear his name and will now spend the rest of his life attempting to make up for the time he lost while behind bars (2). He legally cleared his name but restoring his reputation is a much harder job and Baltovich states that regardless of his newfound innocence by the court system, there will always be individuals who believe he is guilty (2). Baltovich highlighted the true heartbreak of his miscarriage of justice by stating “Wrongful accusations can be devastating to even the strongest person. I don’t think you ever really become you again.” (2). Throughout the entirety of the 18 years of the legal proceedings, Baltovich maintained his innocence and worked diligently to be acquitted of the charges wrongfully laid on him (1).

(1) CityNews. Robert Baltovich and the Elizabeth Bain Murder Trial: The Timeline - 2007 October 15th. https://toronto.citynews.ca/2007/10/15/robert-baltovich-and-the-elizabeth-bain-murder-trial-the-timeline/ (accessed March 14th 2021).

So, it has been established that Robert Baltovich was the victim of a miscarriage of justice but what now? How did the circumstantial evidence lead to the wrongful conviction of an innocent man? Stick around, you're about to find out...

Key witnesses Marianna Perez and David Dibben's testimonies contributed greatly to the execution of this miscarriage of justice as they were at the core of the Crown's case (1). Perez claimed to have seen Baltovich sitting with Bain on a picnic table at 5:40pm on the day of Bain's disappearance and although Baltovich retained an alibi regarding his whereabouts during this time frame, the Crown proceeded forward with this evidence. Perez claimed to be unsure of the specific details of that evening, causing the court to have Perez undergo hypnosis in an attempt to sharpen her memories (1). This was a major ethical issue within Baltovich's case as the Supreme Court of Canada had ruled in R v Trochym that witnesses undergoing hypnosis could not provide credible witness testimony, thus making this evidence inadmissible in court (2). Daniel R. Webert states there are three major problems with the use of hypnosis on witnesses; a) they become more susceptible to suggestion as a result of unconscious influence on their beliefs and attitudes, b) they may fill in gaps of their memories to make it more comprehensible for other individuals, and c) there is a belief that hypnosis leads to "memory hardening", in which individuals have increased confidence in their memories, regardless of whether or not they are true or false (3). The work of Daniel R. Webert at the American Criminal Law Review illustrates the ethical issues of hypnosis on witnesses and highlights the sole fact that, although hypnosis may have positive affects, the cost- benefit analysis of its use in legal proceedings shows that hypnosis can lead to wrongful convictions and produce inaccuracies in witness testimony.

Moving on to Dibben, he also presented to the court that he saw Baltovich driving Bain's vehicle on the 22nd of June, three days after her disappearance (1). However, his testimony was also found to have many flaws and his perception of the man he believed to have been Baltovich had changed significantly over time and did not accurately match Baltovich's physical appearance (1). Dibben also later admitted to not paying adequate enough attention at the time of the sighting and stated he did not get a good look at the driver of Bain's vehicle (1). Much like Perez, his memory and description of the individual had evolved as the criminal case moved forward and more information was provided to the witnesses in an unethical manner.

(1) Innocence Canada. Robert Baltovich. https://www.innocencecanada.com/exonerations/robert-baltovich/#ftn23 (accessed February 2nd, 2021).

(2) Canadian Legal Information Institute. R. v. Trochym. https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2004/2004canlii1262/2004canlii1262.html (accessed February 2nd 2021).

(3) Webert, Daniel R. Are the Courts in a Trance? Approaches to the Admissibility of Hypnotically Enhanced Witness Testimony in Light of Empirical Evidence. American Criminal Law Review 2003; 40(3):1301-1328.

Another important ethical issue that occurred within Baltovich's trial is the use of faulty photo- lineup techniques. Perez, one of the key witnesses for the Crown, completed a photo- line up for the court in which the formatting used was a photo array (5). Perez admitted to selecting an individual within the photo line-up based on a "process of elimination", knowing, based off previously acquired information from the officer conducting the line- up that Baltovich was in fact present in the line-up (1). This is an action that ethical implications as line- ups are required to be conducted in a manner in which members of the force do not know the individuals included in the line-up to allow for the prevention of conveying suggestive information to the witness that may cause them to select the suspect that police are strongly considering as the sole suspect (1). Wells and Quinlivan highlight the sole fact that suggestibility during eyewitness identification procedures, like the photo line-up, can have a significant contribution on the conviction of innocent individuals (6). A lack of structure and function within criminal processes leading up to a trial hearing often leads to the inability to properly identify offenders during conducted testing on witnesses (6).

All evidence presented by the Crown was completely circumstantial and led to a miscarriage of justice. If resources and capabilities had been directed to ensuring the proper acquiring of credible evidence and performance of a fair and proper trial, there may have been an ability to identify the real suspect in the case of Elizabeth Bain's death. Rather than doing so, the Crown invested their assets and time into wrongfully convicting a man for a crime in which he did not commit and allowing the real suspect to roam free, with the ability to cause harm to other societal members.

(1) Innocence Canada. Robert Baltovich. https://www.innocencecanada.com/exonerations/robert-baltovich/#ftn23 (accessed February 2nd, 2021).

(2) Canadian Legal Information Institute. R. v. Trochym. https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2004/2004canlii1262/2004canlii1262.html (accessed February 2nd 2021).

(3) Webert, Daniel R. Are the Courts in a Trance? Approaches to the Admissibility of Hypnotically Enhanced Witness Testimony in Light of Empirical Evidence. American Criminal Law Review 2003; 40(3):1301-1328. (4) Wagstaff, Graham. F. Is there a future for forensic hypnosis? Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 2009; 6(1): 43􏰅57.

(4) Wagstaff, Graham. F. Is there a future for forensic hypnosis? Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 2009; 6(1): 43􏰅57.

(5) Canadian Legal Information Institute. R. v. Baltovich. https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2004/2004canlii45031/2004canlii45031.html (accessed February 2nd 2021).

Mobile phones are increasingly becoming the most common way we communicate, yet this change comes with problems. We live in a society where mobile phones are used to communicate globally. Depending on the culture of a country, issues surrounding the idea of mobile phones differ. 

A study investigated and compared the usage of mobile phones in Sweden, Japan and the USA. This study explored a number of cultural differences that were problematic, or not, to each country. I found it interesting that they asked all three countries if they use their mobile phone quietly in public spaces. Japan and Sweden said they are quiet, whereas USA expressed that they are not quiet if they need to use their phone in public. (Baron & Segerstad, 2010). This can be an example of ethical issues being prominent in some countries, but not others. If an American were to travel to Japan, they may still use their mobile phone loudly in a public space, and be seen as being rude without understanding why.

The issue of cyberbullying has been an ongoing issue in Australia, and is increasingly getting worse. (Price & Dalgleish, 2010). Australia is now introducing school policies in response to cyberbullying. Australian schools have found a convincing connection between cyberbullying, and technologies being used during school. Many schools have already banned mobile phones from classroom, and Australia believes this is an appropriate and effective implication to decrease the ethical issue of cyberbullying. (Butler & Dalgleish, 2010). The way that students communicate is imperative to their learning, and the presence of cyberbullying is detrimental to students and their education.

Being more mindful about the way we use, and when we use our mobile phones, can ensure that we globally reduce issues relating to our mobile phones.

Baron, N. S., & af Segerstad, Y. H. (2010). Cross-cultural patterns in mobile-phone use: Public space and reachability in Sweden, the USA and Japan. New Media & Society, 12(1), 13-34.

Butler, D. A., Kift, S. M., Campbell, M. A., Slee, P., & Spears, B. (2011). School policy responses to cyberbullying: An Australian legal perspective. International Journal of Law and Education, 16(2), 7-28.