Defining justice is a task which requires one to simultaneously define a moral perspective in which one identifies not only the difference that which is right and that which is wrong but the ways in which a society or an individual should address that which is wrong. Dictionary definitions of justice refer to codes of conduct put forward by a society or another group that are meant to serve as norms for behavior (What justice means to me, 2009). Other definitions include reference to the idea that acts have consequences and that these consequences should reflect the significance of the acts that foreshadow them. Defining justice from the perspective of a professional working within the criminal justice field not only requires a personal understanding of morality but also an understanding of legal approaches to the nature of justice.
As a person planning a career in the field of criminal justice as an investigator, I have spent a great deal of time defining the term "justice" in such a way that it will shape my own behaviors. Along with Immanuel Kant, I recognize justice as linked to morality and I am convinced that Kant's formulation of the categorical imperative is a sound basis for understanding justice. According to Kant, one should always act in a manner that one would will to have universal support (Solomon & Higgins, 1992). In other words, that which is just is that which is likely to be regarded as just in virtually any set of circumstances. A corollary or second formulation of the categorical imperative is that one should always treat others as ends within themselves and not as a means to an end (Solomon & Higgins, 1992).
In my definition of justice, I consider it necessary to treat others as one would want to be treated and to always avoid using other people to achieve some potentially desirable outcome. There are many opportunities in the criminal justice field for abusing one's position, for example, by...