A study by the California Judicial Council Advisory Committee on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts found that the justice system gives little attention or resources to investigating crimes against minorities and that minority defendants receive harsh treatment compared to white defendants in similar circumstances. The study also found that black-on-black crime or Latino-on-Latino crime is not taken as seriously as crimes against whites. Judges seem to believe that violence is more "acceptable" to black women because they are viewed as coming from violent communities. Minorities were judged by white, middle-class values in family law matters, and were the victims of racial and cultural stereotypes, which affects the courts '
Women convicted of “other property offenses” – a category of crimes that includes arson, receiving stolen property and breaking and entering — received shorter prison sentences. • Black female defendants were, in some ways, treated differently than white female defendants. Black women were assigned higher bond amounts and were more likely to be sent to prison than white women. Women of both races were equally likely to be released prior to
In Leo R. Chavez’s ethnography, The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation, the claimed problem of Latino immigration, specifically Mexicans, is tackled using interviews, statistics, and other works of literature. Chavez’s ethnography not only discusses Latino immigration but Latino invasion, integration, organ transplants and even Latina fertilization. One of Chavez’s big topics is on how the media influences the public to believe that Latinos are planning an invasion or take-over in order to gain the land that was originally Mexico’s. The topic of Latina reproduction and fertilization comes up multiple times through Chavez’s ethnography. Another main topic that plays a part in Chavez’s argument is the Latino role in public marches and the citizenship aspect of their actions.
for a dull respondent than for a white prosecutor in a practically identical case. A study in California found that the people who killed whites were general 3 times more slanted to be sentenced to death than the people who killed blacks and more than 4 times more likely than the people who killed Latinos. Looks at exhibit that 96% of states where there have been surveys of race and capital punishment, there was an example of either race-of-casualty or race-of-litigant separation, or both. A respondent was a few times more prone to be sentenced to death if the homicide casualty was white. A January 2003 study discharged by the University of Maryland presumed that race and geology are central point in capital punishment choices.
For the same crimes, minorities are given harsher punishments, according to the literature (Feld, Singer, Skolnick, & Roberts, 2012). Cultural bias toward the LGBTQ community and the impoverished are two structural problems that must be addressed (The Balance, 2019). This bias may lead to erroneous accusations and convictions of otherwise innocent persons. American Jury System The jury system is an important part of the American criminal justice system because it guarantees defendants the opportunity to be tried by a group of their peers.
Evidence of racial disparities exists at many levels of law enforcement from traffic stops, drug related arrests, and the use of force; but, the root cause is not always clear. Psychologist point to systemic problems and implicit biases. In matters of criminal justice, both can have life-altering implications. Racial bias is rooted in the human psychology by internal and external factors that are manifested through explicit and implicit discriminatory behavior.
Latino Racial Profiling As coming from a Hispanic heritage, I’ve experienced being called “A Mexican who crossed the border”. America is the land of opportunities and freedom. Freedom that should be shared by all, not just whites, “Latinos are affected the same way that African-Americans are” (Alba-Panama)”. Latino racial profiling is bad because it’s illegal and not all Latinos cause harm.
“In recent months, police chiefs in Los Angeles and Houston have said that reports by Latinos of certain types of crime are down in their respective cities. Both chiefs blamed the declines on heightened fear of deportation among undocumented immigrants, a majority of whom are Latino. They say the trend is concerning because police departments rely on members of the community — regardless of their legal status — to report crimes when they occur.”
Racial Profiling Racial profiling is when law enforcement officials target individuals for suspicion of crime, based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Profiling is morally wrong. Profiling is a very dangerous.
Biased juries are usually influenced because of racial discrimination. Adding on to diverse juries, “It has been nearly impossible to be clear, according to advocates of increasing the jury's diversity” (Emmanual). There is racial prejudice causing unfair issues that African Americans experience with the police (Bryant). Juries with no diversity are prominently seen in court, which causes doubted trials. Characterized by Lee, the society shows that, “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee 117).
Members of the judicial system, such as judges and lawyers, play a crucial role in addressing the issue. Lawyers provide legal counsel and representation to their clients, including those accused of crimes, and can work to ensure that their clients receive fair treatment within the criminal justice system. Judges, on their part, are responsible for making sentencing decisions and have the power to address disparities in sentencing. This understanding can help us to identify the root causes of the problem and develop effective strategies to address it. For example, by recognizing the impact of systemic racial inequalities on sentencing decisions, we can work towards implementing reforms within the criminal justice system to ensure that all individuals are treated fairly and justly.
233). Studies from Peak et al. (2010) further indicate that bias base policing occurs mainly towards minorities and is racially insensitive (p. 233). Similar studies from Pollock (2014) revealed that men of color express more “distrust in the police because they fear force may be used on them due to their ethnicity and color” (p. 138). The notion previously stated by Pollock (2014) raised many questions about police ethics and morals, powers of discretion and pre-conceived discrimination, and prejudices that society has bestowed on individuals of minority background.
Bringing attention to the unfair disparage-ridden system, it is known that racial minorities like African Americans or Latinos are condemned more than Caucasians hence the dispoportionate number of the innocent outweighing the number of those guilty of the crime. The correction of the oppressive imbalanced system leaves room for a new unbiased
Coker gives great evidence that supports racial injustice in the criminal justice system. She discusses on the Supreme Court’s rulings and accusations of racial preference in the system. This article is helpful because it supports my thesis on race playing a role on the system of criminal justice. Hurwitz, J., & Peffley, M. (1997). Public perceptions of race and crime: The role of racial stereotypes.
There are many indicators of the huge impact in disparities in sentencing women as compared to men and more so when it revolves around minorities ( race and class). Though there are lower crime rates among women as compared to men, there are significant disparities which tend to show favouritism to women. Research has shown that men get 63 per cent longer custodial sentences than women. In addition, it is twice more likely to have women get non custodial sentences even after conviction. However, as mentioned the disparities are more profound when issues of race and class are intertwined in the sentencing.
Michael King and Colin May emphasise the lack of understanding between BME parties and white, male judges to a have a detrimental impact on BME defendants; they criticised the lack of diversity in the judiciary and believe that “impressionistic accounts and limited empirical evidence suggest that they are more likely to be prosecuted than white people” . It is therefore plausible to assume that having a diverse judiciary across the courts will improve the satisfaction of all parties in a case; particularly, cases that involve Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) parties. Recent evidence implies that the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 has not yet achieved the desired impact in making the judiciary more diverse however through a comparative lens the reforms have made a colossal effort to tackle the problem compared to ten years