Dimensions of Justice

Criminal justice is centrally concerned with what people deserve—with the rights a defendant can properly claim when charged with a crime, with the punishment a judge should impose for wrongdoing, and with the scope of discretion officials may exercise when enforcing the law. Dimensions of Justice: Ethical Issues in the Administration of Criminal Law is the only textbook of its kind that addresses these questions of justice from an institutional perspective. Thought-provoking features, including Thought Experiments boxes that present imagined scenarios to illustrate the principles under discussion and Justice in Context boxes that consider the real-life applications of concepts, along with clearly presented learning objectives, create a strong foundation in key concepts, pertinent vocabulary, and critical-thinking and reasoning skills. Readers are introduced to moral reasoning and the underpinnings of philosophical approaches to justice, including readings from critical philosophers such as Aristotle, Augustine, Locke, Kant, and Rawls. Accessible but rigorous, Dimensions of Justice: Ethical Issues in the Administration of Criminal Law provides a unique and innovative approach that challenges students to develop a new analytical framework for thinking about the criminal justice system.