Prosecutorial Discretion: An Examination of Substantial Assistance Departures in Federal Crack‐Cocaine and Powder‐Cocaine Cases

The Joint Effects of Offender Race/Ethnicity and Sex on Sentence Length Decisions in Federal Courts

“…Black men, in contrast, are likely to be treated more punitively than females of varying races/ethnicities (Curry and Corral-Camacho 2008;Hartley et al 2007;Spohn and Beichner 2000;Spohn and Spears 1997) and white males (Crew 1991;Curry and Corral-Camacho 2008;Hartley et al 2007;Kruttschnitt 1984;Spohn and Beichner 2000;Spohn and Holleran 2000;Steffensmeier and Demuth 2006;Steffensmeier et al 1993Steffensmeier et al , 1998. This may especially be the case for young, black males (see Spohn and Holleran 2000;Steffensmeier et al 1998, but see Curry and CorralCamacho 2008).…”

“…The sentences imposed on black males were significantly longer than those imposed on white males, black females, white females, and Hispanic females; there were no differences in the sentences imposed on black males and Hispanic males. Others have also found that black men are treated more punitively than females of varying races/ethnicities (Hartley et al 2007;Spohn and Beichner 2000;Spohn and Spears 1997) and white males (Crew 1991;Hartley et al 2007;Kruttschnitt 1984;Spohn and Beichner 2000;Spohn and Holleran 2000;Steffensmeier and Demuth 2006;Steffensmeier et al 1993Steffensmeier et al , 1998, but no differently from Hispanic males (Hartley et al 2007). …”

“…These dummy variables were then included in a model that estimated the sentence length decision. Other researchers have employed the same (or a similar) approach in their investigations of sentence severity (see Hartley et al 2007;Spohn and Beichner 2000;Spohn and Spears 1997;Steffensmeier and Demuth 2006;Steffensmeier et al 1998). 8 We obtained the United States Sentencing Commission's Offender Datafile for each district for each year.…”

Driving racial profiling research forward: Learning lessons from sentencing research

“…Beyond the focus on race, ethnicity has become a key focus. Studies have generally concluded that Hispanic defendants received harsher sentences than either Caucasian or Black defendants (Demuth & Steffensmeier, 2004;Steffensmeier & Demuth, 2001), were less likely to receive departures (Hartley, Maddan, & Spohn, 2007), and received smaller sentence reductions in downward departures (Steffensmeier & Demuth, 2000, see also Albonetti, 1997). Other research reported that minority status is a more important factor in serious cases than non-serious cases (Leiber & Blowers, 2003).…”

“…Other research reported that minority status is a more important factor in serious cases than non-serious cases (Leiber & Blowers, 2003). Finally, the importance of the type of case (guideline versus mandatory minimum), the type of drug (crack versus powder cocaine) (Hartley et al, 2007), and the district in which the case was sentenced (Hartley, 2008;Johnson, Ulmer, & Kramer, 2008;Spohn, 2005) were all factors affecting sentencing decisions for minorities. Overall, substantive evidence exists that some degree of bias toward minority defendants is prevalent in sentencing decisions (Mitchell, 2005).…”