Criminal justice decision making as a stratification process: The role of race and stratification resources in pretrial release

The political and organizational response to gangs: An examination of a “Moral panic” in Nevada

“…On the other hand, there is little or no evidence that race is a factor on a prosecutor's decision to file charges (Albonetti et al 1989;Miethe 1987; Miethe and Moore t986). That decision is a function primarily of the severity of the offense and the quality of the available evidence.…”

The Effects of Legal and Extralegal Factors on Detention Decisions in US District Courts

“…No studies have examined presentence detention in the federal system and few studies have closely examined pretrial detention. 7 To our knowledge, only a handful of the latter studies explore extralegal disparity (Albonetti et al, 1989;Bak, 1998a;Spohn, 2009;Stryker et al, 1983). 8 The two earliest studies used pre-BRA data, before detention of dangerous defendants was legitimate.…”

“…Gottfredson & Gottfredson, 1988), there is evidence that extralegal factors--such as age, sex, and race and ethnicity--contribute to unwarranted disparity in justice outcomes. However, studies of extralegal disparity in detention decisions in the federal courts are few (Albonetti, Hauser, Hagan, & Nagel, 1989;Bak, 1998a;Spohn, 2009;Stryker, Nagel, & Hagan, 1983), and analyses on data collected after the enactment of the BRA are even scarcer. A more fundamental concern is that previous research has tended to neglect the structure of substantive and procedural criminal laws when modeling the effects of extralegal factors.…”

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Crime and Criminal Justice in the United States

“…United States courts are legally allowed to use dangerousness to the community and flight risk in pretrial decision making. Typically, the court relies on the defendant's employment status, marital status, and length of residence to indicate "community ties" which, in turn, are used to predict whether a defendant is likely to flee the area or fail to appear at trial (Albonetti et al 1989). …”

“…Nonetheless, as Albonetti et al (1989) show, race is related to bail decision making in complex, interactive ways. In a study of more than 5,000 male defendants across ten federal court districts, Albonetti et al report that defendants with lower levels of education and income receive significantly more serious pretrial release decisions, controlling for community ties and dangerousness.…”