Race and gender of defendants causally affect judicial outcomes

Evidence

For example, it has been shown that race and gender of the death row inmates matter regarding which defendants gets their sentence commuted to a life term, and which ones get executed (Argys & Mocan, 2004). Arnold, Dobbie, and Yang (2018) found that bail judges are biased against Black defendants. Rehavi and Starr (2014) reported that Blacks received longer sentences than Whites, all else being equal. Mustard (2001) analyzed federal offenders and found that Black and male defendants received longer sentences. Starr (2015) reported substantial gender disparities in sentence lengths in favor of females in federal criminal cases. Schanzenbach (2005) analyzed case outcomes of offenders sentenced under federal sentencing guidelines, finding that all else equal female defendants received shorter sentences, while the opposite was true for Blacks and Hispanics. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 743 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

In chapter 6, Mocan discusses judicial bias. In spite of the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC, grandly bears the words “Equal Justice Under Law,” research shows that defendants’ race impacts case outcomes, even when holding constant the factors that should matter for case adjudication. This means that two similarly situated defendants, charged for the same crime and having the same mitigating or aggregating circumstances, face different probabilities of conviction and receive different sentences—on account of their different races. Moreover, judges’ attributes, such as race, gender, and political affiliation, impact how they decide cases. Mocan provides a host of possible solutions to judicial bias, and he also argues that this latter point might actually show the way forward: to the extent that judges’ attributes, experiences, and backgrounds impact their rulings, then diversity on the bench could very well improve outcomes for minority defendants. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 33 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Judicial race and gender affect case outcomes, making bench diversity a remedy for bias — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 33; Measured case outcomes show race and gender bias across multiple court settings. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 743; Defendants’ race reliably predicts negative case outcomes (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Measured case outcomes show race and gender bias across multiple court settings. #corroborates (0.95) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 743
• Judicial race and gender affect case outcomes, making bench diversity a remedy for bias #expands (0.92) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 33
• Omitted variables correlated with race make regression estimates of judicial bias unreliable #complicates (0.85)
• Whether race-based disparities stem from animus or statistics may not matter to defendants #complicates (0.75) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 791