NCJ Number
173831
Date Published
1995
Length
98 pages
Annotation
This study examines prosecutorial decisionmaking, the relationship to those decisions of defendants' race, and the impact of existing prosecutorial guidelines on racial disparities in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for King County, WA.
Abstract
The study attempted to determine whether and under what circumstances the race and ethnicity of adult persons accused of felony crimes in King County influenced, either directly or indirectly, prosecutorial decisionmaking and the processing of felony criminal cases by the prosecuting attorney. Procedures and standards which the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office adopted, which are reevaluated and changed regularly, appeared to produce cases handled in a systematic way based on legally relevant factors. Even so, there were some observable differences by race of offenders in case processing outcomes. The study could not draw definite conclusions as to the sources of those differences. Racial and ethnic differences in criminal justice are not necessarily the result of individuals making biased decisions, but may appear because of the adoption of laws and policies that differentially affect segments of the population. Notes, bibliography, tables, appendix