Impact of the Ethnicity and Gender of Defendants on the Decision To Reject or Dismiss Felony Charges

• NCJ Number: 106004
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 25 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1987) Pages: 175-191
• Author(s): C Spohn; J Gruhl; S Welch
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1985 annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association.

Annotation

The issue of pretrial discrimination was examined by focusing on the prosecutor's decision to reject or dismiss a charge in 33,000 cases from Los Angeles between 1977 and 1980.

Abstract

The sample included black, Anglo, and Hispanic males and females. Defendant's age, prior record, offense seriousness, and use of a weapon were controlled statistically. Although few differences were found among the groups concerning the reasons charges were rejected, significant ethnic and gender differences were found in the decision to prosecute. Hispanic males were most likely to be prosecuted, followed by black males, Anglo males, and females of all ethnic groups. Ethnic differences were apparent only at the rejection stage (i.e., before the defendant was charged), while gender differences were apparent at both the rejection and the dismissal stage. 2 tables and 45 references.