Liberty University
CJUS 200 – D03
Application Essay 3
COMPLEXITIES WITHIN THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM AS OFFENDERS AND VICTIMS SEEK JUSTICE
1. A plea bargain may be acceptable to an innocent defendant if the appearance of guilt is
strong. How do you reconcile the benefits of plea bargaining with the importance of
justice? Support your assertions with concepts from the Biblical Principles presentation.
The benefits of the “plea bargaining” process with the importance of justice pertains to
each person in the courtroom workgroup performing each of their required duties. The benefits
of plea bargaining are defined in Bohm & Haley state in Introduction to Criminal Justice, “Plea
bargaining is the perfect mechanism for achieving the primary focus of the crime control model:
efficiency” (2018). It is also further discussed, in this text book that if all cases were heard, the
trial dockets would become overcrowded and the costs for holding these trials would be a burden
on the taxpayers. Having the ability of plea bargaining opens a judge’s workload to allow them
to focus on the defined difficult cases. This clearly defines the importance of justice and how the
benefits of plea bargaining come into play.
Bohm & Haley continue to explain, “If a defendant pleads guilty, the judge must
determine whether the plea was made voluntarily and whether the defendant is fully aware of the
consequences of his or her action. If the judge doubts either of those conditions, then the judge
can refuse to accept the guilty plea and enter in the record a plea of “not guilty” for the
defendant” (2018). Basically, the defendant in this scenario should be made aware of the
implications of the guilty plea and that the evidence is strongly against a finding of not guilty. It
is the defense attorney’s job to inform their client of this information and then allow the
defendant to make the right choice as to whether to accept the plea bargain with all information
given to him or her. The judge would then verify if the defendant understands all conditions of
the plea bargain.
Dr. Kahlib Fischer explains in the presentation of Biblical Principles of Government and
Criminal Justice (Overview), “it is the Biblical worldview that ensures the most freedom for
people while also protecting everyone’s rights while also ensuring maximum benefit for society
while also limiting government insuring that everything is as it should be” (2016). A defendant’s
right to justice is always defined by the evidence found against them. If in a situation where the
evidence would most likely convict the defendant, it would be in their best interest for the
defense attorney to strongly suggest the proposed plea bargain to their client.
2. How should the judicial system balance the rights of the accused with the rights of the
victim in its search for justice? Support your assertions with concepts from the Biblical
Principles presentation.
The rights of both the accused and the victim should be considered as the main priorities
of the case. If the defendant’s rights are not upheld from the initial arrest through each step of
the court process, then the case could possibly be closed. In this situation, the victim would
never get closure. This would result in a victim resenting the justice system and potentially
cause the accused to continue with their criminal acts. There can also be situations where the
victim is not actually a victim and the accused are falsely charged with an offense. The accused
rights and the victim’s rights both must be considered during the search for justice. In the
presentation of Biblical Principles of Government and Criminal Justice (Overview), Dr. Kahlib
Fischer explains that, the morals that we should have for all of society would be from the
Biblical worldview standpoint (2016). A Biblical worldview ensures the most freedom and
protects everyone’s rights and would direct the judicial system in a balance between the rights of
the accused and the rights of the victim.
Upon a conviction of the accused, the victim and the victim’s family have the right to
have a victim-impact statement read at the sentencing hearing. This balances out both the
defendant’s rights and the victim’s rights by allowing the victim or victim’s family to respond to
the defendant after the hearing that had outlined each aspect of the trial that the defendant was
accused of and convicted for.
In the presentation, Biblical Principles – God & Authority & Accountability it states “The
criminal justice system is to protect human rights, it does not create them. When these basic
tenets are denied, our nation jeopardizes the value of human life which includes God’s intent for
human equality” (Venturo, L., 2017). Without balancing out the rights of both sides, the
possibility of denying an individual’s right can be violated or denied.
References:
Bohm, R. M., & Haley, K. N. (2018). Introduction to Criminal Justice, Ninth Edition. New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN: 978007786050.9
Fisher, K. (2016, June 20). Biblical Principles of Government & Criminal Justice. Retrieved
from https://prezi.com/rdo7e91mruov/biblical-principles/?
utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy#
Venturo, L. (2017). Biblical Principles – God & Authority & Accountability. Retrieved from
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-22386819-dt-content-rid-
234056333_1/courses/CJUS200_D03_201820/Presentations/CJUS200_05_God_and_Aut
hority/CJUS200_05_God_and_Authority/CJUS200_05_God_and_Authority.html
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