I think discretion is necessary in our legal system because if the employees of our judicial system took a complete legalistic approach everyone that got caught breaking the law would be fined, sent to jail or punished in some way. That sounds like a good idea for serious offenses, but that policy would have to apply to ALL offenses, including speeding tickets, a headlight out, etc.
I have greatly appreciated the discretion I have been shown by state troopers when I have been pulled over for speeding. The couple times I have been stopped for speeding and given warnings I wasn't going more than 10 over. The officers saved me a lot of money by giving me warnings instead of tickets, and I really appreciated it. The members of law enforcement are there to keep us safe, not bankrupt us with fines and court costs, their use of discretion shows us that they are really working to make society a safer place by punishing acts that are dangerous to others.
I don't think I have ever used legal discretion with another individual, but I guess there have been times when I have given people the benefit of the doubt and not reported every law violation I see to the authorities. I'm not saying that I have witnessed serious crimes and not called the police, but just minor violations that I hoped the people didn't do on a daily basis and weren't going to harm another individual.
Leave a comment