Film a Few Good Men Term Paper

Jessup shows contempt for the entire process from the time he arrives in the court, fully in keeping with his messianic belief in his own superiority and his role in protecting the country at all costs. He has no respect for the defense attorneys, as might be expected, but also none for the prosecutor or the judges in the court. His ethical standards are based entirely on a vision of himself as arbiter of all right and wrong, and he believes he did nothing wrong because he believes he can do no wrong. Jus because he saw a need, any decision he makes is necessarily right. He also does not recognize any higher authority, which is what a court certainly is, and when he is forced to admit his own actions, he still sees himself as right and those who have forced him to tell the truth as the real threat to the nation as a whole.He says just that as he is taken out of the courtroom. Kaffee clearly proves his case, and the court responds properly and presumably without repercussions for Kaffee and the other defense lawyers. This is not stated overtly, but based on what has gone before, it is assumed to be the case. The system responds to the evidence and makes a decision, and while the two defendants are acquitted of murder, they a re convicted of conduct unbecoming a marine and so discharged from the service. This is a reasonable and ethical decision because even if Jessup ordered them to act as they did, they had a responsibility not to commit an infraction even if ordered to do so. Of course, this flies in the face of the marine culture and would itself be an extraordinary act with dire consequences, but that ethical element is not addressed directly in this film.

Reference

Thomason (2005). Ethics in….....