Observing Gender and Race Discourses in Probation Review Hearings

Abstract

<jats:p> Much of the prior court literature has demonstrated gender and racial disparity exist across various decision-points. Less understood are the processes that produce this disparity, particularly in problem-solving courts. This article utilizes 100 observations of probation review hearings in three domestic violence courts to examine how judges, probation agents, attorneys, and probationers construct a probationer’s non-compliance. Using a critical discourse analysis approach, the author examined how probationers and their actions are constructed based upon gender and racial discourses. Gender differences in parenting responsibilities, mental health, and domestic violence discourses emerged, with racial differences in responsibility and mental health discourses. </jats:p>

Policing and the Courts

“…Discourses of gender and race are significant in probation reviews. Romain Dagenhardt (2020) observed probation reviews in domestic violence courts in the American Midwest in relation to how judges, attorneys and probation officers understood probationers' non-compliance. There were recurrent discourses of mental health and responsibility, which were framed differently according to the gender and race of defendants.…”

“…Black probationers were framed as not taking responsibility for meeting the conditions of their probation, rather than benefitting from explanations based on mental health. Romain Dagenhardt (2020) notes Black and Latinx men were constructed through racialised stereotypes as hypersexed and aggressive.…”

Individuals With Mental Illnesses on Probation: The Intersection of Trauma, Race, and Gender

“…Black individuals are also more likely to receive jail sentences due to “personal choice or moral failings” and lack of effort as compared to White individuals, who are often viewed to need help from the mental health or substance use service system and referred for treatment instead (Romain Dagenhardt, 2020, p. 504). Young, Black men are also most likely to receive more, and more restrictive, probation conditions (Kimchi, 2019), which leads to much higher rates of Black individuals in the criminal legal system (Carson, 2021; Kaeble, 2021).…”

“…Disparities can also be observed in judicial settings. Black individuals on probation are less likely to be recommended for mental health assessments by judges compared to their White counterparts (Romain Dagenhardt, 2020). The breakdown of the criminal legal system to consistently and adequately assess mental illnesses among persons of color exacerbates challenges for Black individuals to successfully disengage from the system once involved.…”