Confucius Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Confucius - Essay Example It is wrong to leave this path for instant since a path that you are free to leave can never be the true path (Waley & Allen, 2000). In this account, the superior man is cautious and careful with respect to where he focuses his attention and is regarded. Humankind must thus give their mind to what is worth listening to and is worth saying. That superior man should always be watchful even when alone (Wing-Tsit, 2005). He contends that, when there are no stirrings of pleasure, anger, sorrow, or joy, the mind is in a state of equilibrium. On the other hand, when these feelings are stirred, and act in their due degree, the resultant is the state of harmony. That equilibrium is the root where acts of humanity grow. On the other hand, harmony is the path that guides them, such that when equilibrium and harmony exists in perfection, a happy order prevails throughout heaven and earth, and all things are nourished (Waley & Allen, 2000). Confucius contends that, the path of learning is to illuminate the goodness in man, to bring out what is best in people and to achieve the highest excellence. That once the true point of departure on this path is found thoughts becomes clear. Calmness yields peace needed for deliberations and such deliberations yield desired goals. He proceeds on this line of thought that to exhibit goodness in kingdoms, first order well, the states, which are for rulers. That it will follow to families, then the person rectifies their hearts. To do this, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts by first extending to the utmost of their knowledge, and this lay in investigation of things. With rounded knowledge, as he espouses, then sincere thoughts, and rectified hearts, persons rectified and cultivated, order is brought to their families, to states rightly governed, and the whole kingdom is tranquil and happy. Here, he contends that cultivation of

The Role of Magistrates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Role of Magistrates - Essay Example Thus, magistrates' assignments and the organization of their workloads can vary, sometimes dramatically, not only from district to district and courthouse to courthouse, but also among magistrates with offices along the same hallway in a single courthouse. (Carroll, 2003) Although they receive task assignments from district judges, magistrates, as judicial officers with their own legal and support staffs, retain at least some degree of autonomy in designing the organization of their workload. In fact, because they generally are not as involved with the time-consuming business of presiding over trials, events which require definitive scheduling in order to have parties, attorneys, witnesses, jurors, and other actors simultaneously present in one room, the subordinate judges frequently have significant autonomy in deciding when to address particular assigned tasks during their workdays. The magistrates generally are not responsible for prisoner cases. Habeas corpus and civil rights cases by prisoners are reviewed by two staff attorneys assigned to the district court. An experienced senior magistrate supervises these staff attorneys. Although this magistrate was laden with additional responsibilities, unlike in some other districts, he was not rewarded with the title "chief magistrate." After the initial screening by the staff attorneys, prisoner cases meeting procedural and legal requirements may be assigned by judges to their paired magistrates. A "duty magistrate" system developed for handling preliminary criminal matters. In the large court, magistrates are "on duty" for separate, rotating, one-week periods in which they have exclusive responsibility for processing the criminal cases. Thus, the magistrates normally handle criminal matters only once every five weeks. In the large court, criminal pre-trial matters, such as arraignments, bail reviews, detention hearings, initial appearances, search warrants, and arrest warrants, arise virtually every day. In addition, some of the judges have magistrates handle criminal pre-trial conferences to coordinate and settle evidentiary and other matters prior to trial. Magistrates in Action The following incident observed at the courthouse provides a picture of the magistrates at work as subordinate yet authoritative judicial officers. In the large courthouse, there is a daily "Duty Call" scheduled at one o'clock each afternoon to handle preliminary criminal matters. On this particular day, the district's magistrates held their regular monthly luncheon meeting, which did not conclude until 1:15. Afterwards, the duty magistrate talked with the author about the magistrates' roles for ten more minutes prior to entering the courtroom. Magistrates, like judges, recognize that lawyers and witnesses are frequently late in getting to court. Therefore, court proceedings generally do not begin and the magistrate or judge will not enter the courtroom until all other relevant actors are present. The magistrate's lack of concern about beginning precisely on time did not indicate