And Justice for All? Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Federal Drug Courts in California and the US

Abstract

This study uses data obtained from the United States Sentencing Commission for fiscal years 2003, 2007, and 2012 to examine racial and ethnic disparities in drug crime sentencing. The authors use linear regression to assess disparities in sentence length between African-American and white offenders and Latino and non-Latino offenders and a binary logistic regression model to assess black/white and Latino/non-Latino disparities in the odds of receiving a sentence below the range stipulated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.At the national level, the study found significant racial disparities that disadvantage AfricanAmerican offenders in sentence length and odds of a below-range sentence. The study observed no disparities between African-American and white offenders in California for sentence length in 2003 or 2012, or for below-range odds in any of the three years. Nationally, ethnic disparities that disadvantaged Latino offenders were found in both sentence length and odds of a belowrange sentence.In California, Latino offenders tended to receive longer sentences than others in 2003 and 2007 and had lower odds of a sentence below the guideline range in 2012. The years included in this study bracket the Supreme Court case, United States v. Booker, but we found no clear impact of the case with regard to racial or ethnic disparities in sentencing outcomes.2

La perspective judiciare sur la réhabilitation des drogues en Indonésie

“…12 Des recherches critiques ont examiné les préjugés de classe et de race dans la criminalisation des délinquants noirs et de classe inférieure en matière de drogue, 13 l'emprisonnement de masse pour des délits mineurs liés à la drogue 14 et les disparités dans les peines prononcées pour les infractions liées à la drogue. 15 Les délinquants qui n'avaient pas les moyens de payer pour des programmes volontaires de traitement de la toxicomanie étaient plus susceptibles d'être perçus par les juges comme étant moins aptes à la réhabilitation. Une étude récente sur le système judiciaire en Slovénie a indiqué que la loi sur les peines est conçue pour punir de manière disproportionnée les consommateurs de drogue.…”

Community Courts & Race: An Examination of Community Court Judges, Staff, and Racial Dynamics

“…When testing for racial outcomes, many studies find significant statistical difference between the completion rates of whites and non-whites (Breitenbucher et al, 2018; Chen & Nomura, 2015; Dannerbeck et al, 2006; Ho et al, 2018; Marlowe et al, 2016; Mckean & Warren-Gordon, 2011; Senjo & Leip, 2001a; Sechrest & Shicor, 2001). Overall, black participants complete PSC programs at lower rates than white participants.…”

Judicial perspectives on the sentencing of minor drug offenders in Indonesia: discretionary practice and compassionate approaches

“…For example the mass imprisonment for minor drug offences[28,31] and disparities in drug sentencing in the USA[7,27,32].…”

“…Rule 127 is concerned with the rule about drug misuse. Rule 127 enables a choice to be made between drug misuse either being punished by imprisonment or sent for treatment 7. Both SEMA 2010 and SEMA 2011 set the maximum quantity of drugs being used at the time of the offender being arrested, which is eligible for rehabilitation.…”