Racial bias in criminal case outcomes varies by decision point and offense type

Evidence

The 2012 Vera Institute report shows a review of thirty-four empirical studies published between 1990 and 2011 (Kutateladze, Lynn, & Liang, 2012). These studies examined potential racial and ethnic disparities at initial case screening, pretrial release and bail procedure, dismissal, charge reduction, guilty plea, and sentencing. The report concluded that defendants’ or victims’ race does in fact influence case outcomes, even when a host of legally relevant (e.g., charge severity and prior record) and nonlegal factors (e.g., defendant age and defense counsel type) are statistically accounted for. … Yet the results are not always favoring White defendants: “While a greater number of studies found that minority defendants are more likely to be prosecuted, held in pretrial detention, and to receive other harsh treatment, researchers also found proof of prosecutors treating White defendants more harshly for certain offenses and at certain discretion points” (p. 17). — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 564