Introduction
Fuller was a legal philosopher and a Harvard professor who is famous for his contributions on morality law. He developed morality law by trying to integrate law and morality using eight principles. He argued that obedience of the law is highly connected with morality because, “Even if a man is answerable only to his conscience, he will answer more responsibly if he is compelled to articulate principles on which he acts” (Fuller, 1975). However Fuller says that for to be it has to be functioning well and also it must command obedience from the people.
Morality of law
For the legal to be respected then the legal officials and the private citizens must understand each other and agree that the law is “essential, right, and good”. In implementing the law the officials also ought to understand the moral responsibility of those within their jurisdiction. To engage in the activity of subjecting individual behavior to the control of rules entails use of obligation and understanding that man is, and can be, accountable for his actions and also capable of accepting and obeying law. He says that, “Every departure from the principles of the law’s inner morality is an insult to man’s dignity as a responsible agent” (Fuller, 1975). Fuller therefore explains that morality is the ability of man to engage in sensible deeds, rationality in making choices and accepting responsibility for their actions. Fuller says that for law to be applicable as morality it has to be “;(1) sufficiently general; (2) publicly promulgated; (3) sufficiently prospective; (4) clear and intelligible; (5) free of contradiction; (6) sufficiently constant through time, (7) not impossible to comply with; and (8) administered in a way sufficiently congruent with its words” (Fuller, 1975).It is therefore the responsibility of both parties to follow the law that governs them: the officials expect that the people will follow the law and hence the people should also expect that the officials will abide by the rules that bide them to their moral duty. The officers should be able to act on morality at any one time regardless whether they are on duty or not.
Analyzing the scenarios
The scenarios given are different but will all be analyzed using the same laws hence the above principles and facts apply. The first scenario involves people snorting drugs at a friend’s party, and official who are off duty one is not allowed to arrest people unless it is an emergency. However, an officer can detain until the on duty officer arrives therefore professional discretion is applied because these people are on the wrong. An officer should therefore follow morality and arrest the drug users because the people themselves know the laws and also they know the duties of the officers (Delattre, (2006).
The second scenario involves community policing and a resident of the community who has been participating faithfully in community crime prevention meetings; he gives an officer a basket of fruits and a Christmas card with a $30 gift certificate as an expression of his appreciation. There is no moral problem in that scenario since the individual has been active in preventing crime hence he is not a criminal meaning that there are no other interests in giving the gift. By giving the gift the individual is actually practicing morality which according to Fuller is obeying the legal system. The person also knows the law therefore he is aware that the officer is bound by the law to stop criminal activities and hence he can not solicit illegal favors from the officer. Officials can accept gifts for appreciation of their work from any one as long as they do not come in disguise for bribes, which is against the law and morality too.
The third scenario involves a homosexual officer and another who is not; Officer Davis who is not a homosexual wants to be reassigned because his partner Office Ted Jones is a homosexual. Officer Jones has never made sexual advances toward his partner and the law allows his sexuality. The principles require that the laws have to exist and also they have to be known and applied appropriately at all times for them to be useful. There is no moral problem in the scenario because Officer Jones has not disobeyed any law; morality requires that individuals coexist no matter their differences and although it is not written anywhere, it is applicable. As said earlier being moral also means obeying the law hence Officer Davis should practice morality and coexist with his partner (Delattre, 2006).
Conclusion
All the principles apply in all scenarios because in all circumstances a law exist concerning each issue, it is clear and has been in operation hence can be used to analyze the scenarios. It is also clear that morality and law are connected because they all can be used in maintaining law and order. Moreover human beings have been known to be more obedient to moral rules than even the written laws hence following the legal system expectations is also practicing morality.
Reference list
Delattre, E. (2006). Character and Cops Ethics in Policing. Washington, DC: AEI Press.
Fuller, L. (1975. The Morality of Law. New Haven: Yale University Press.