Institutionalizing inequality in the courts: Decomposing racial and ethnic disparities in detention, conviction, and sentencing*

Abstract

A significant body of literature has examined racial and ethnic inequalities in sentencing, focusing on how individual court actors make decisions, but fewer scholars have examined whether disparities are institutionalized through legal case factors. After finding racial and ethnic inequalities in pretrial detention, conviction, and incarceration based on 4 years of felony court data (N = 83,924) from Miami‐Dade County, we estimate nonlinear decomposition models to examine how much of the inequalities are explained by differences in criminal history, charging, and for conviction and incarceration, pretrial detention. Results suggest that inequality is greatest between White non‐Latinos and Black Latinos, followed by White non‐Latinos and Black non‐Latinos, ranging from 4 to more than 8 percentage points difference in the probability of pretrial detention, 7–13 points difference in conviction, 5–6 points in prison, and 4–10 points difference in jail. We find few differences between White non‐Latinos and White Latinos. Between half and three‐quarters of the inequality in pretrial detention, conviction, and prison sentences between White non‐Latino and Black people is explained through legal case factors. Our findings indicate that inequality is, in part, institutionalized through legal case factors, suggesting these factors are not “race neutral” but instead racialized and contribute to inequalities in court outcomes.

Life lessons: Examining sources of racial and ethnic disparity in federal life without parole sentences*

“…Any understanding of individual sources of racial bias, however, cannot be divorced from a broader appreciation of the structural influences that also shape and constrain punishment. Recent work has suggested that broader, macro-level factors may be especially important for understanding overarching patterns of racial inequality in the justice system (Bushway & Forst, 2013;Omori & Petersen, 2020). Some classical scholarship has portrayed organizations as bureaucratically rational and race neutral (Weber, 1978), but more recent work has argued race and ethnicity play fundamental roles in the structuring of organizational outcomes (Bonilla-Silva, 1997).…”

Prior punishments and cumulative disadvantage: How supervision status impacts prison sentences*

“…The role of prior punishments in cumulative disadvantage is important when considering that disadvantage may disproportionately accumulate for some individuals through the intersection of legal factors (e.g., prior punishments) and extra‐legal factors (e.g., race)—particularly when “status‐linked attributions and stereotypes” influence opinions on dangerousness or blameworthiness [see Ulmer (2012) for a theoretical review]. Although older sentencing research concluded that racial disparities are diminished when legal factors are controlled (Baumer, 2013; Spohn, 2000; Ulmer, 2012; Zatz, 2000), recent decomposition studies have shown that racial disparity stems from those differences in prior legal factors (e.g., Donnelly & MacDonald, 2018; Omori & Petersen, 2020). This work has suggested that disparities build primarily through differential impact (i.e., Blacks have longer criminal record than Whites) rather than differential treatment (i.e., Blacks with same record as Whites are treated more harshly; Hamilton, 2015; Schlesinger, 2011).…”

“…This work has suggested that disparities build primarily through differential impact (i.e., Blacks have longer criminal record than Whites) rather than differential treatment (i.e., Blacks with same record as Whites are treated more harshly; Hamilton, 2015; Schlesinger, 2011). The process by which prior records are built “institutionalizes” inequality (Omori & Peterson, 2020). What is less well understood is if racial disparities persist in a sentencing guidelines setting after controlling for the formal impact of prior record in the guidelines scoring.…”

“…Harsher sentences stem from more serious criminal records—and the process that builds criminal records is not equal across groups. Therefore, meaningful differences in past criminal justice records further contribute to punishment severity and cumulative disadvantage, which disproportionately impacts Blacks and Latinos (Bushway & Piehl, 2011; Donnelly & MacDonald, 2018; MacDonald et al., 2014; MacDonald & Raphael, 2020; Omori & Peterson, 2020; Owens et al., 2017; Rehavi & Starr, 2014; Sorensen et al., 2012).…”

“…Decomposition studies in guidelines contexts have shown that criminal history (broadly defined) explains a good portion of the racial disparity in sentencing outcomes (differential characteristics, not differential treatment given characteristics; Donnelly & MacDonald, 2018; Omori & Petersen, 2020; Rehavi & Starr, 2014; Sorensen et al., 2012). Owens and colleagues (2017) provided a rare analysis on the specific impact of previous incarcerations, finding that these “account for 70–90% of the raw Black/White disparity” in length of incarceration sentences but in a nonguidelines context (p. 22).…”