Justice: 

     Justice is fairness!  As a Marine NCO you give rewards and punishments as each case merits.  Justice must be impartial.  Personal feelings, emotions, beliefs, and prejudices are not allowed to influence your decision.  When dealing with a situation that requires justice, you must be fair, consistent, and prompt.  It only takes one unfair decision to hurt your reputation and lose the respect of your Marines.  Each Marine rates individual attention; each case should be looked at individually and be dealt with fairly.  Justice is not only involved in dealing with problems; it is rewarding a job well done.  When you use justice in recognizing outstanding effort, you boost morale.  To improve the trait of justice you should:

·         Search your mental attitudes to determine prejudices; then seek to rid your mind of them.

·         Learn to be impersonal when imposing punishment or giving rewards.  Be absolutely impartial when performing these duties.

·         Search out the facts of each case.

·         Analyze cases that have been decided by leaders who have the reputation for justice.

·         Study human behavior and be a student of human nature.

·         Be honest with yourself.

·         Recognize those subordinates worthy of commendation or award.  Don't be known as one who only hands out punishment.

EXAMPLES:

1.  The fair apportionment of tasks by a squad leader during all field days.

2. A Commanding Officer who overlooked a critical piece of evidence, which resulted in the unjust reduction of a NCO in a highly publicized incident.  The CO decides to set the punishment aside and restore the NCO to his previous grade even though the CO knows it will displease his seniors and may even reflect negatively on his fitness report.

REFERENCE:  Marine Corps Values and Leadership User's Guide for Discussion Leader