The United States court system stands for integrity and justice, punishing the wrong and protecting the innocent. That’s what we have been taught since we were kids. Without knowing either the inner workings or the intricacies of how the system actually works, it is hard to imagine that a justice system with so much power can be so corrupt and simple at times. Even in a place where ethics and justice are the foundation of its being, the right thing isn’t always done. Because of the perfect situation, the criminal charges, and the ethical sensitivity, I would pass on the high priced lawyers deal and pursue the drug dealer. I am a proud person that couldn’t watch someone suffer due to my selfishness. I would assume by becoming a prosecutor, I would want to make unbiased judgment’s to help society. The situation is not very complex and a normal law abiding citizen would easily pick the young girlfriends side when presented with this situation. The young girl is pregnant with the drug dealer’s child. Putting her in jail would add a lot of stress to her pregnancy, and prosecuting her could result in complications with her pregnancy as well as affect the child after it is born. The girlfriend would also be forced to go to jail, robbed of her life as she knows it. She will be separated from her family, friends, and give up all the freedoms she had for something she didn’t do. Forty years is a very long time to spend in prison and even if she does manage to get out early, the sentence and ruling will radically affect her life in a negative manor. Also, the situation puts the drug dealer in a direct line of fire. I would pursue him even if the girlfriend chooses not to testify against him. He has the connection to the drugs and even if it takes more time and money, it would be worth it in the end to chase him down, rather than taking the easy exit. Even if I didn’t manage to put him behind bars, the girlfriend would walk away free. I would have complete backing of the state to chase him as well as their resources. This would give me an opportunity to get much closer thanks to his previous offenses and with all the extra help and power of being a prosecutor, I could get much closer than the ones before me. The charges brought up also affect my decision to pursue the drug dealer until he is behind bars. The magnitude of the charge should only be awarded to the offender of the crime. This is a way of cracking down on all other criminals, by putting the right guy behind bars. This in turn would help deter other offenders and his accomplices, since they would get to see no one is invincible to the law. Just having this make the news may be enough to stop somebody he knew, or worked for think twice before performing their next crime. The punishment itself would practically rob an offender of the majority of his life. Putting someone behind bars for years because of a promotion and some attention is hardly worth the hit on your conscience. This is a huge reason why I wouldn’t even consider the bribe from the defense lawyer. The drug dealer had already been charged with previous crimes, and even though he got away with a conviction, he has such a bad record it can’t possibly be seen as a coincidence. Considering if I somehow managed to accept the defense lawyer’s deal and the drug dealer got caught a few years down the row for a similar offense, my reputation would be tarnished. People will then label me as a hypocrite in the court system lacking every ounce of integrity and lacking the bravery to do the right thing. This is something that I would never give into for any reason, and something that I’m too proud to fall victim to.
In an ethical sense, putting the mother of the drug dealer’s child behind bars would be the absolutely worse thing I could do. I would be letting a known criminal back on the streets, thinking he is even more invincible as before and possibly taking even bigger risks. This could lead to him committing even more severe crimes leading to injuries or worse to other people. By accepting the deal I would also be separating the child from the mother and giving custody to the drug dealing father. This is a horrible consequence of accepting the deal, as I am now putting an extremely innocent person’s life into an unstable, unethical person’s hands. Accepting the bribe in the first place, breaks all the morals I have and it is something I could not do knowing the girlfriend is not guilty. Destroying two innocent people’s lives so that one guilty man can run free is something I’d never forgive myself for and would never forget. The prosecutor holds a lot of power in the cases and if I were to abuse my power for my own personal gains, I would be giving up my entire reason for even pursuing a career in law. My life would turn into a contradiction. In the end, I would hope that the court system plays itself out as it should. Even if it takes longer and is the more complicated road leading to a lacking prosecution career, it is the right thing and I would have a clear conscience knowing I put a dirt bag behind bars or close to it. There aren’t many other ways I could approach it. Under no circumstances would I accept the bribe because of the situation, the criminal charges, and the ethical sensitivity. I would hope in today’s world, prosecutors would have the same approach. With a prosecutor holding such power and esteem over a person’s fate, it takes a lot of responsibility and maturity to properly perform the job.

References
Fuller, J. (2010). Criminal Justice Mainstream and Crosscurrents. Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall.
Zacharias:, F. C. (n.d.). Legal Ethics for Prosecutors and Defenders. CCJA's Criminal Pretrial and Trial Practice. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from http://criminaldefense.homestead.com/ethics.html