II. The Paradoxical Challenge of Discretion and the Rule of Law
Steven Maynard-Moody and Michael Musheno, in their book, Cops, Teachers, and Counsellors: stories from the front lines of public service story 9.4 “Hearing Aids Conk Out”, tell a story of a young women who went to a vocational rehabilitation center to ask for help in paying for over $1,000 for replacement hearing aids the young women needed in order to keep her job. Maynard-Moody and Michael Musheno write, “Under ‘order of selection’… she was not eligible. To get help you have to lose the job, but losing the job defeats the purpose because the hearing aids (purpose is) to keep the job. (Moody & Musheno, 2006:114) In this story the vocational rehabilitation worker bends the rules …show more content…
Bureau of Justice Statistics found African American drivers are more likely than white drivers to be stopped. Those numbers become more disproportionate when African Americans are in predominantly white neighborhoods (Meeham & Ponder, 2002:400). “(Officers are) aware that official statistics show that African Americans are disproportionately represented as offenders through the criminal justice process” (Meeham & Ponder, 2002:402). Additionally, over the last twenty years African Americans incarceration rates for drug arrest increased from 650 to 2,907 per 100,000 population after the implementation of the war on drugs (Beckett, et. al, 2005:419). While the increase in the same twenty year period for white drug offenders only increased from 350 to 463 per 100,000 (Beckett, et. al, 2005:419).The war on drugs focuses on Crack Cocaine, the only drug that is predominately used by African Americans while the drugs Marijuana, Heroin, Meth, powder/intranasal cocaine are all primarily used by white individuals (Beckett, et. al, 2005:428). A Seattle precinct captain, who was responsible for a predominately white area, reported outdoor drug transactions do not occur in that area. Beckett (2005) writes, “However, we were able to observe hundreds of drug transactions in that area in a fairly short period of time, the vast majority of which involved whites” (p.
Steven Maynard-Moody and Michael Musheno, in their book, Cops, Teachers, and Counsellors: stories from the front lines of public service story 9.4 “Hearing Aids Conk Out”, tell a story of a young women who went to a vocational rehabilitation center to ask for help in paying for over $1,000 for replacement hearing aids the young women needed in order to keep her job. Maynard-Moody and Michael Musheno write, “Under ‘order of selection’… she was not eligible. To get help you have to lose the job, but losing the job defeats the purpose because the hearing aids (purpose is) to keep the job. (Moody & Musheno, 2006:114) In this story the vocational rehabilitation worker bends the rules …show more content…
Bureau of Justice Statistics found African American drivers are more likely than white drivers to be stopped. Those numbers become more disproportionate when African Americans are in predominantly white neighborhoods (Meeham & Ponder, 2002:400). “(Officers are) aware that official statistics show that African Americans are disproportionately represented as offenders through the criminal justice process” (Meeham & Ponder, 2002:402). Additionally, over the last twenty years African Americans incarceration rates for drug arrest increased from 650 to 2,907 per 100,000 population after the implementation of the war on drugs (Beckett, et. al, 2005:419). While the increase in the same twenty year period for white drug offenders only increased from 350 to 463 per 100,000 (Beckett, et. al, 2005:419).The war on drugs focuses on Crack Cocaine, the only drug that is predominately used by African Americans while the drugs Marijuana, Heroin, Meth, powder/intranasal cocaine are all primarily used by white individuals (Beckett, et. al, 2005:428). A Seattle precinct captain, who was responsible for a predominately white area, reported outdoor drug transactions do not occur in that area. Beckett (2005) writes, “However, we were able to observe hundreds of drug transactions in that area in a fairly short period of time, the vast majority of which involved whites” (p.