U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Administration of Justice: Chicanos in Monterey County (From Criminal Justice and Latino Communities, P 47-56, 1995, Antoinette S. Lopez, ed. - See NCJ-168536)

NCJ Number
168538
Author(s)
H Garza
Date Published
1995
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Data from 187 second-degree burglary cases processed in Monterey County (Calif.) formed the basis of an analysis of differential handling of white and Hispano American defendants at each decision stage in the trial process.
Abstract
The defendants were all males over age 21 and were not alcoholic or drug addicts. The sample included 68 Hispanic Americans and 119 white defendants. The research sought to determine the extent to which variations in handling could be accounted for by the ethnic variable, to what extent they could be accounted for by social class, and to what extent by a combination of the two. The analysis controlled for prior criminal record and current criminal charges. Results revealed a relationship between ethnicity and social class at every stage of the trial process. The likelihood of negative differential handling increased when Hispano American ethnicity and lower social class were both present. Findings supported the hypothesis of differential handling as measured by ethnicity and social class; ethnicity was the more significant factor, but lower-class status or prior criminal record increased the likelihood of negative handling. Table, notes, and 10 references

Downloads

No download available

Availability