Please review all of the materials in Folder #1.  Please also read Chapters 1-

Please review all of the materials in Folder #1.  Please also read Chapters 1- 3 in the textbook, paying particularly close attention to pages 42-43.  I have also attempted to help you think about a variety of issues involving discretion, which includes a link in Folder #1 to the code of conduct for the City of Chicago Police Department.  As with many police departments, Chicago prohibits consuming alcohol to the point of intoxication –OFF DUTY!   If the Chicago Police Department can prohibit drinking off duty, is this overreaching, OR, is it trying to protect the standards by which we want to view police officers?    Think of what happened to another criminal justice professional in the recent Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and his discretion being called into question on issues involving his consumption of alcohol.  (I sense that alcohol consumption was the tip of the iceberg to much larger issues, which you may also discuss).  My goal is to get you thinking about acting with discretion at all times, as you can not turn it on and off.  Working in the criminal justice field is highly emotional, and I am hopeful that the materials will help to open your eyes to think about what it means to act with discretion as a criminal justice professional.  Some of you might later reach the pinnacle of Criminal Justice, as a Legislator, drafting laws and passing rules and enacting statutes for the rest of us to live by.  It is perhaps the politician that is most often seen as acting without discretion, and this first discussion is meant to delve into the political arena to analyze this unfortunate phenomenon.
Discretion, if used improperly, can lead to poor and often unethical decisions.  As many lawyers eventually run for office, there is a deeper concern that these poor decisions can have serious consequences.  
Click on the following links to examine the list of local, state, and federal politicians convicted of crimes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_state_and_local_politicians_convicted_of_crimes (Links to an external site.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_federal_politicians_convicted_of_crimes (Links to an external site.)
Question:   Why do you think so many politicians, who most often worked in the criminal justice system in some capacity, ended up on this list?  What does it say about the current state of the criminal justice system, given that so many politicians have acted without discretion?  What are a few possible solutions?  While these questions posed sound a bit like asking for your opinion, then you are correct in your assessment — but please try to support your conclusions with reasoning and sprinkle in a bit of outside reference for good measure.