Race in the justice system.

Abstract

Devine, and Evelyn Maeder for sharing their knowledge and providing valuable feedback on this chapter.

The effects of body‐worn camera footage and eyewitness race on jurors' perceptions of police use of force

“…Racial bias is pervasive in the criminal justice system (Hunt, ; Sommers & Marotta, ). According to theories such as aversive racism theory and modern racism theory, most Americans are unlikely to exhibit overt “old‐fashioned” racial prejudice (McConahay, ).…”

Effects of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrator and Victim Race on Protective Order Determinations

“…Psycho-legal research generally reveals that victim and perpetrator race play a role in virtually every stage of legal decision-making, ranging from police decisions to arrest to judicial sentencing decisions (for reviews, see Burke et al, 2020; Hunt, 2015). Indeed, officers are more likely to arrest and use force when suspected perpetrators are Black and Latinx than White (e.g., Goff & Kahn, 2012; Kochel et al, 2011); prosecutors are more likely to seek the death penalty when defendants are Black and Latinx than non-Black (e.g., Espinoza & Willis-Esqueda, 2015; Sommers & Marotta, 2014); judges are more likely to render punitive sentences for Black and Latinx defendants than for non-Black defendants (e.g., Mitchell, 2005); and White mock jurors are more likely to convict Black and Latinx defendants than White defendants (e.g., Devine & Caughlin, 2014).…”

“…Indeed, officers are more likely to arrest and use force when suspected perpetrators are Black and Latinx than White (e.g., Goff & Kahn, 2012; Kochel et al, 2011); prosecutors are more likely to seek the death penalty when defendants are Black and Latinx than non-Black (e.g., Espinoza & Willis-Esqueda, 2015; Sommers & Marotta, 2014); judges are more likely to render punitive sentences for Black and Latinx defendants than for non-Black defendants (e.g., Mitchell, 2005); and White mock jurors are more likely to convict Black and Latinx defendants than White defendants (e.g., Devine & Caughlin, 2014). Such effects are theorized to be driven by aversive racism (i.e., negative beliefs about ethnic groups that drive subtle forms of discrimination; Dovidio & Gaertner, 1986; Hunt, 2015) as well as well-documented negative stereotypes associating Black people with criminality (e.g., Eberhardt et al, 2004).…”

“…Racial minority victims face similarly discriminatory treatment within the legal system. When victims are Black or Latinx (vs. White), police are less likely to make arrests (e.g., Hunt, 2015), and prosecutors are less inclined to seek the death penalty (Bohm, 2017). In addition, White mock jurors render more punitive sentences and attribute less victim blame when rape victims are portrayed as White than as Black or Latinx (e.g., Field, 1979; Lewis et al, 2019; but see Stevenson et al, 2009).…”

Same Crime: Different Punishment? Investigating Sentencing Disparities Between Irish and Non-irish Nationals in the Irish Criminal Justice System

“…The impact of implicit racial or ethnic bias in quick decision-making may therefore be highly relevant to criminal justice systems. International research indicates that implicit racism is a major problem within criminal justice systems, with punitive attitudes and outcomes heavily impacted on by the ethnicities of those involved (Eberhardt et al, 2006;Eberhardt and Hetey, 2014;Glaser et al, 2015;Hunt, 2015).…”