Administration of Justice Based on Gender and Race (From Visions for Change: Crime and Justice in the Twenty-First Century, Third Edition, P 463-479, 2002, Roslyn Muraskin and Albert R. Roberts, eds. -- See NCJ-192962)

• NCJ Number: 192978
• Author(s): Etta F. Morgan Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: Prentice Hall Publishing
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter reviews the literature that has examined the influence of race and gender on decisions within the criminal justice system, from initial contact with law enforcement to sentencing.

Abstract

Empirical research has consistently found evidence that the administration of justice is discriminatory by race and gender. Efforts to reduce such discrimination by restricting discretion at the sentencing stage have not been effective. Apparently, more fundamental changes in the justice system and in the values expressed by members of society will be required to establish a fair and efficient system of justice from arrest to incarceration. The administration of laws by the criminal justice system has come under scrutiny for various reasons. Some research has suggested that the influence of extralegal factors has been more influential in determining the outcome of a case than the law itself. Gender and race have been identified as the most consistent extralegal factors that have influenced criminal justice personnel and juries in their decision making regarding defendants and offenders. Based on the attitudes of the current political forces in control of the U.S. Congress, the recent elimination of affirmative action, and the overall racial climate in America, the author projects that the discriminatory practices in the administration of justice will only increase. The persons most adversely affected by the current punitive policies of the criminal justice system are Blacks, the poor, and the legally underrepresented. Women are also affected. Women who come before the criminal justice system are treated more harshly because they are considered violators of the higher behavioral standards society sets for women. The problems of the criminal justice system are an extension of society's dominant discriminatory views of those most likely to encounter the criminal justice system. Thus, the society itself must be willing to examine and correct the way racism and sexism have impacted the administration of the law. 71 references