Yet, at the same time she would also feel restrained because she considered herself not being insane and unreasonable. On the other side, if she were released, she would be happy due to the result of freedom. Nevertheless, she would possibly harm innocent public and reduce the social stability enjoyed by everybody in the society. .
In terms of the attorneys involved in the case, either convicting Joyce or freeing her would result in pleasure in on one side and pain on the other side. No pain and pleasure would be created in total at the end. .
At the age of thirty-eight, Joyce Brown got arrested, charged with assault and found guilty of harassment. Her mental health severely declined, and her job performance deteriorated as well. She became quite aggressive and was not able to support herself. She was fired due to absenteeism and drug abuse. Under such circumstance, Joyce's sisters forced her to go to the East Orange General Hospital to get medication. For Joyce's sisters, no pain or pleasure would be brought to them if the judge convicted Joyce since Joyce did not take any actions towards them. However, the action would prevent social perturbation. The same reason applies to Mayor Koch. .
For the psychiatrists of Project Help, they would consider convicting Joyce and giving her involuntary treatment could help cure her, which could ultimately promote the maintenance of social stability. .
As a result, the act of conviction can bring pleasure to the whole society, yet the act of freeing Joyce can only bring happiness to herself. Because only consequence matters in Act Utilitarianism, the hedonic utility of convicting Joyce would have a greater balance of pleasure over pain than that of freeing her. By comparing the hedonic utility of the two acts, Judge Lippman would eventually convict Joyce and give her involuntary treatment if he were an Act Utilitarian. .
From the Kantian perspective, all actions are performed according to some maxim.
