The Prediction of Racial/Ethnic Sentencing Disparities: An Expectation States Approach

Abstract

For the most part, prior research on discrimination in sentencing has not been theoretically informed by a context-based theory of decision making. In this article we introduce one of the theories of status characteristics and expectation states, Hembroff's (1982) version, to predict when racial/ethnic sentencing disparities are most likely to occur. The theory predicts that when the case-related attributes (i.e., a performance characteristic set) are consistent—all point to incarceration or all point to probation—sentencing disparities are not likely to occur based on defendants' race/ethnicity (i.e., diffuse status characteristics). The theory also predicts that as case-related attributes become increasingly inconsistent—some point to incarceration while others point to probation—there is an increasing likelihood that racial/ethnic sentencing disparities will occur. We evaluate the utility of this theoretical model by analyzing data on the sentences of 313 male drug offenders in Miami, Florida. The results support Hembroff's version of status characteristics theory.

Assessing the Impact of Status Information Conveyance on the Distribution of Negative Rewards: A Preliminary Test and Model

“…First, Unnever and Hembroff (1988) examine racial and ethnic sentencing disparities among male drug offenders. They find that consistent case-related characteristics of defendants eliminate the influence of established status characteristics, race and ethnicity, on sentencing decisions.…”

Latinos/as in the criminal and juvenile justice systems

“…As shown in Table 3, the 11 studies (Lemert and Rosberg 1948;Castberg 1971;Holmes and Daudistel 1984;Zatz 1984;Spohn et al 1987;Unnever and Hembroff 1988;Albonetti 1997;Hebert 1997;Spohn and Holleran 2000;Demuth 2000, 2001) that tested for ethnic effects among adult offenders in non-capital cases report differential treatment in favor of Caucasians in both the type and severity of dispositions. In particular, using multivariate statistics, recent studies nicely document the complexity and prevalence of discrimination in specific processing points.…”

“…More recently, Spohn and Holleran (2000) tested for ethnic effects in jurisdictions that until recently have received little attention and found significant ethnic disparities in incarceration outcomes in Chicago and Miami, an indication that the motive of punishment be carefully analyzed. Likewise, given the significance of drug offenses and the current incarceration rates, the three studies (Unnever and Hembroff 1988;Albonetti 1997; see also Klein et al 1990) that report ethnic sentencing disparities in drug cases place questions not only on the distribution of legal sanctions but on the legitimacy of the war on drugs as well. In two recent and well grounded studies, the data show that in sentencing decisions, Latinos are treated the most harshly for both drug and nondrug offenses (Steffensmeier and Demuth 2001).…”

Apolitical courts? Rape sentencing in Montana

“…It is asserted that multiple charges against a defendant tend to increase the severity of sentencing (Miethe, 1987;Unnever and Hembroff, 1988).…”