Racial bias enters criminal justice at every decision stage from legislation to verdict.

Evidence

To our knowledge, this volume is the first to address the impact of racial bias in the full roster of criminal justice actors—from legislators crafting criminal justice legislation to community enforcement (neighbors calling police on neighbors) to police enforcement, from prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys to judges and jurors. Understanding when and why bias arises, as well as how it impacts defendants, requires understanding each of these actors. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 24 (#expands, via linked claim)

Numerous actors play crucial roles in the legal system. Understanding how criminal justice is impacted differentially by race requires a focus on each component. Different actors determine who shall be arrested and who shall not, who shall be charged and who shall not, who shall be offered plea bargains and who shall not, who shall be vigorously defended and who shall not, and who shall be found guilty and who shall not. Police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and jurors are all sworn to uphold the law, but their explicit and implicit biases have differential impact on people of color relative to their White counterparts. Before any of these actors play their role in criminal justice, decisions are made to call the police, and these decisions are affected by racial bias. And before even such calls are made, legislators make decisions about which behaviors to criminalize and these decisions also are affected by racial biases. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 23 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Racial bias permeates every stage of the criminal justice system — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 24; Racial bias operates at every stage from lawmaking through conviction — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 23; Racial disparities compound at every stage of the criminal justice process — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 48 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Racial bias permeates every stage of the criminal justice system #expands (0.97) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 24
• Racial bias operates at every stage from lawmaking through conviction #expands (0.97) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 23
• Racial discrimination concentrates at early criminal justice stages where discretion is widest #complicates (0.86)
• Line prosecutors believe colorblindness eliminates racially biased decisions #complicates (0.76)