What Justice Means

What Justice Means

Schmalleger, Ph.D. (2009) defines justice as, "The principle of fairness and the idea of moral equity" (p. 15). There are several different types of justice. Social justice, for one, is a notion, which deals with fairness and to cultural beliefs of what is right and what is wrong. Civil justice is another form of justice, which deals with the notion of fairness in relationships between citizens, government agencies and businesses in a private matter (Schmalleger, Ph.D., 2009). All of these types of justice deal with one notion, which is equality and fairness. In order to get a better understanding of justice, I will give my own definition of what justice means to me. Then a discussion of my chosen profession and how I intend to carry out justice in that profession.

Justice – Defined

Justice is an elusive word because it can have a myriad of definitions. After doing much research to get an idea of what justice truly means one word comes to mind, righteousness. Righteousness comes to mind because when one is righteous, one is fair and evenhanded. For example, in Amanda Knox's case, was justice served? I believe that it was. After following the trial from beginning to end, to have found Amanda Knox not guilty is in fact justice. There was not enough proof of her involvement in the murder. Her initial trial was not just because it was, to a certain degree, tried in the media, with the media calling her she-devil. During her appeal, new evidence was found exonerating her of the murder. The court's decision to find her not guilty is justice, although not everyone would agree, especially the victim's family. Justice, therefore, happens when one looks at the information and a decision is made based on that information. Justice will not please everyone. Someone will always be against the outcome, in this case, the verdict. Knowing this information about justice, it is easy then to say that, there are times justice is blind, depending on who is asked and the situations.

Implementing Justice in the My Career

My desired career choice is to become a mental health counselor at the juvenile detention facilities in California. There are so many juveniles with a mental illness who end up committing crimes that, if healthy, they would not be committing. The mentally challenged juvenile often self medicates by taking illegal drugs causing them to turn to a life of