Whether race-based disparities stem from animus or statistics may not matter to defendants

Evidence

While there is clear evidence that defendants’ race has an impact on case outcomes, it is unclear whether the deep root of this is racial animus or statistical discrimination. This is a difficult question to answer, and how we answer it may have policy implications. That said, from the perspective of defendants who face differential treatment on account of race, the root cause does not matter. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 791

Categorization

• XREF: Directly bears on the reader’s sincere-conviction-vs-measured-bias gap: statistical discrimination can produce measured disparity absent conscious animus.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 791