NCJ Number
97816
Journal
Judges Journal Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1985) Pages: 5-11,53-54
Date Published
1985
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Racial prejudice in the criminal sentencing of minorities is investigated based on studies, consultations, and testimony presented to the National Minority Advisory Council on Criminal Justice (NMACCJ) in 1982.
Abstract
Cited studies support the NMACCJ report on the pervasiveness of racial prejudice in criminal justice decisionmaking, ranging from the setting of bail, jury selection, plea bargaining, representation by counsel, and the hiring of court personnel to sentencing. Studies indicate that racial disparities in the sentencing of racial minorities can result from racial discrimination or seemingly neutral socioeconomic determinants. It is concluded that judicial roles and sentencing patterns suggest that cultural distance between decisionmakers and defendants tends to decisionmaker attitudes toward the defendant. The greater the cultural distance, the greater the tendency towards bias in making judgments. Forty-two references are listed.