The translated novel Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee tells of a district magistrate of Chang-Ping in the T’ang Dynasty named Judge Dee Goong An, famous for his ability to solve mysterious cases. This is simple enough, except it is immediately evident to the reader that Judge Dee is not just a normal magistrate content with solving a case – it is easy to see that he always digs deeper. His success is unparalleled in the land, his actions laid out without a single corrupt thought or a lax view. What makes Judge Dee so effective? How is he able to look past the most obvious answers to find the one that is correct? It is obvious that he can only do this with the help of various different philosophies. These philosophies provided him …show more content…
Hsu, of course, was the young man who committed adultery and was an accessory to the murder of Bee Hsun, the husband of Mrs. Djou. Instead of a severe punishment for Dr. Tang, Judge Dee orders otherwise, saying “But in deference to your great achievements in the field of scholarly researches, I shall free with this public reprimand, enjoining you henceforth to devote all your time to your own literary studies. You are strictly forbidden ever again to engage in the teaching of young students.” (Van Gulik, pg. 208). Judge Dee respected Dr. Tang’s higher learning status, whereas if it were a normal person the punishment would have been far more severe and painful. Respect for the actions of a person’s elders is evident as well. In the same scene, Judge Dee convicts the student Hsu Deh-tai, who is to be executed by strangulation – however, Judge Dee recognizes the “meritorious services rendered to the State by the said Hsu Deh-tai’s father and grandfather” (pg. 214). This is a subtle example of filial piety, albeit indirect filial piety. A social hierarchy is near-impossible to miss in this novel as well– from the very beginning the reader is notified of the position of Judge Dee and his consequent assistants under him, along with the fact that all of his subjects refer to themselves as “this insignificant person” (pg. 10). They all respect Judge Dee, which shows the Confucian idea of social order. Because of these facts,
For this criteria I will be producing a written evaluation of the effectiveness of magistrates and juries in the administration of justice in the English legal system.
In the book Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee (Dee Goong An), the main character is Judge Dee, a magistrate in China’s Tang dynasty. The roles of a magistrate include, but are not limited to, being a judge, detective and police officer. The book follows three of Judge Dee’s cases, the Case of the Double Murder at Dawn, the Case of the Strange Corpse and the Case of the Poisoned Bride. In order to be a distinguished and powerful magistrate, one must lead with Confucian and Legalist values. Judge Dee is an effective magistrate because he blends both Confucian and Legalist values seamlessly, and is well aware of the Tang dynasty’s social hierarchy.
Judge Dee is a magistrate for the Chinese Province of Ching-Ping and he used many methods and techniques to solve his cases. He also had significant influence on the society. Judge Dee mainly utilized two methods to solve his cases, and they were using disguises and torture. He first used disguises in the case “The Double Murder at Dawn” to try to find any suspicious man or women that might look like he or she has been in a conflict instead; he finds the beginnings of the second case “The Strange Corpse.” This is always a simple way to get information because if he appeared as a magistrate, people will be unwilling to dispense the information needed. So if he dresses up like a doctor like he did at the beginning, people would be willing to
However, there is another person who gets punished, Doctor Tang, Mr. Hsu’s teacher. Dr. Tang is the host teacher of the private school, and lives with all his students, taking charge in the supervision of his pupils. During the tribunal, Judge Dee told Doctor Tang, “You, a man of wide learning and many years experience, have failed miserably in your duties as a tutor. The crime of adultery took place in your house, and, as it were, under your very eyes…….you are strictly forbidden ever again to engage in the teaching of students.” [4]The Judge then proclaims to Mrs. Bee(though does not in fact punish her), “You failed in your duty of supervising the conduct of your daughter-in-law, and consequently two heinous crimes were committed in your house.”[5] This relates again to the Confucian theory of right relationships. The elderly should play his/her role as an older person in the Chinese society, or else the society will go without order, and though Mrs. Bee doesn’t get punishment, the words Judge Dee says clearly portray interpersonal relationships in Chinese society.
In his murder novel, The Willow Pattern, Robert Van Gulik chronicles the work of the semi-fictional historical figure Judge Dee: a statesman and detective of the Tang court. In the midst of a mysterious plague that had overtaken the capital city of Chang’an Judge Dee seeks answers to the murder of two wealthy aristocrats. Over the course of his endeavors, he encounters many attributes and acts characteristic to the Tang Dynasty. DESPITE THE FICTIONAL NATURE OF HIS NOVEL, GULIK PAINTS A HISTORICALLY PLAUSIBLE PICTURE OF THE TANG DYNASTY THROUGH DEPICTIONS OF THE COSMOPOLITAN CULTURE, THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND ADHERENCE TO CONFUCIAN, LEGALIST, AND BUDDHIST BELIEFS.
Slavery was at the root of the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford. Dred Scott sued his master to obtain freedom for himself and his family. His argument was that he had lived in a territory where slavery was illegal; therefore he should be considered a free man. Dred Scott was born a slave in Virginia around 1800. Scott and his family were slaves owned by Peter Blow and his family. He moved to St. Louis with them in 1830 and was sold to John Emerson, a military doctor. They went to Illinois and the Wisconsin territory where the Missouri Compromise of 1820 prohibited slavery. Dred Scott married and had two
Merit –compare and contrast the role of judges ,lawyers and lay people within the English courts.
An example of Judge Dee acknowledging his Confucian and Legalist traits is with Doctor Tang. He notes that Doctor Tang could have been “severely punished as an accessory”, but he only lightly punishes him (208). Judge Dee is able to be Confucian’s junzi, or “perfect gentleman”, while maintaining Legalism’s firmness and harsh punishments. At the beginning of the Case of the Strange Corpse, he uses his knowledge from Confucian studies to pose as a doctor, and his mutual responsibility as a Legalist government official is put into use when a mute girl comes to him. Judge Dee believes he is witnessing the aftermath of a crime, and this eventually leads him to his next case, showing readers that Judge Dee is most effective when he mixes his Confucian and Legalist
The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee takes place in Tang Dynasty China and it revolves around Judge Dee (Dee Goong An). Judge Dee was a magistrate (or a judge), who solved different crimes around China. In this book, it includes three main crimes and Judge Dee examines them all. Judge Dee included both Legalist and Confucian methods to help move along each case and eventually solve them. He used these different techniques to help him solve each case, but three certain Confucian values helped him truly become a good magistrate. The three Confucian values were Ren, Xiào, and Li. Judge Dee used all of these values in order to become a good magistrate.
The Role and Powers of Lay Magistrates in Criminal Cases 1a) Describe the role and powers of lay magistrates in criminal cases. b) Consider whether lay magistrates are adequately trained for their work. 1a) Describe the role and powers of lay magistrates in criminal cases. For centuries the criminal justice system has allowed lay people; people who are not legally qualified to administer justice to the civilian population.
play in his opening speech. He sets the story that he is going to tell
The term justice is used in some of America's most treasured and valued documents, from the Pledge of Allegiance, to the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence. Everyone wants to be treated justly whether it's in the courtroom or the local bar. Most people would feel confident giving a definition for justice, but would it be a definition we could universally agree to? Given that justice is a very common term, and something we all want, it's important to have a precise definition. For hundreds of years philosophers have argued, debated, and fought over this topic. Justice can clearly be defined as the intention to conform to truth and fairness. This is true justice.
Rule of law in simplest terms means law rules, that is, law is supreme. The term “Rule of law‟ is derived from the French phrase “la principle de legalite” (the principle of legality) which means a government on principle of law and not of men. Rule of Law is a viable and dynamic concept and, like many other concepts, is not capable of any exact definition. It is used in contradistinction to rule of man. Sir Edward Coke, the Chief Justice in King James I‟s reign is said to be the originator of this principle. However, concrete shape was given to it by Professor A.V. Dicey, for the first time in his book “Law of the Constitution” (1885) in the form of three principles.
The rule of law is a difficult concept to grasp and proves elusive to substantive definition. However, the following work considers the attempts of various social and legal theorists to define the concept and pertinent authorities are considered. Attitudes and emphasis as to the exact shape, form and content of the rule of law differ quite widely depending on the socio-political perspective and views of respective commentators (Slapper and Kelly, 2009, p16), although there are common themes that are almost universally adopted. The conclusions to this work endeavour to consolidate thinking on the rule of law in order to address the question posed in the title, which is at first sight a deceptively simple one.
The Supreme Court has had many different places where it was located over the years. There has been a struggle to find a permanent home for the most powerful court of law. At first, the meetings were in the Merchant Exchange Building in New York City. The court then followed the nation's capitol to Philadelphia in 1790. In 1800 the court again relocated to Washington DC. At first they spent their time meeting in various places. The place to find the Supreme Court now is in Washington DC, on First Street located in Northeast.