Race, Ethnicity, and Judicial Discretion

Nowacki, Jeffrey S.

doi:10.1177/0011128712470990

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Ulmer et al's conclusion concerning the Booker impact was confirmed by Fischman and Schanzenbach’s (2012) analysis of the interaction between race/ethnicity and the Booker decision, which also used mandatory minimums as the outcome variable and revealed the same results. Nowacki (2015), however, found evidence to support the worsened effects of both race and ethnicity following the Booker decision.…”

Section: Theoretical Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Within-race variations in sentencing outcomes: Nationality and punishment among Asians in United States federal courts

2021

Punishment & Society

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There is robust evidence that Asians are not treated differently from Whites and receive greater leniency than Blacks and Hispanics in criminal punishment. Some research findings even suggest that Asians receive the most favorable sentencing outcomes among all racial/ethnic groups. This line of research, however, has not paid attention to Asian nationality groups. Particularly, it is unclear whether there is within-race variation among offenders from different Asian countries. Using the data compiled by the United States Sentencing Commission to examine whether and how an Asian's nationality affects criminal punishment, this study focuses on sentences imposed on offenders who are Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Korean, Pakistani, and Vietnamese nationals. Results from logistic, ordinary least squares, and Tobit regression analyses indicate that with legal and extralegal factors held constant, Asians of different nationalities face varying odds of incarceration or downward departures, and they receive dissimilar sentence lengths.

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Section: Theoretical Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Within-race variations in sentencing outcomes: Nationality and punishment among Asians in United States federal courts

2021

Punishment & Society

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“…Several studies have found a direct relationship between race and sentence length, with Black individuals generally receiving slightly or moderately longer sentences than their White counterparts (Burch, 2015;Chen, 2013;Demuth & Steffensmeier, 2004;Doerner & Demuth, 2010;Feldmeyer & Ulmer, 2011;Franklin, 2015;Nowacki, 2015Nowacki, , 2017Spohn & Sample, 2013;Steffensmeier & Demuth, 2000;Steffensmeier et al, 2017). Still, others have found that Black defendants do not receive longer prison sentences than White defendants (Freiburger & Sheeran, 2020;Helms & Constanza, 2010;Jordan & Freiburger, 2015;Spohn & Holleran, 2000), or at least not as a direct effect of race (Spohn, 2013).…”

Section: Effects Of Race/ethnicity On Sentencing Severitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies that examine disparities in sentence length between Latinx and White individuals have been less conclusive. Some have found that Latinx individuals receive longer sentences (Demuth & Steffensmeier, 2004;Doerner & Demuth, 2010;Franklin, 2015;Nowacki, 2015;Steffensmeier & Demuth, 2000;Steffensmeier et al, 2017), and others found no difference (Chen, 2013;Feldmeyer & Ulmer, 2011;Jordan & Freiburger, 2015;Spohn & Holleran, 2000;Spohn & Sample, 2013).…”

Section: Effects Of Race/ethnicity On Sentencing Severitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, much of the research on race and sentence length has focused on people incarcerated in federal prisons (Brennan & Spohn, 2009;Doerner & Demuth, 2010;Feldmeyer & Ulmer, 2011;Franklin, 2015;Nowacki, 2015Nowacki, , 2017Ward et al, 2016), despite the fact that 87% 2 of people incarcerated are in state prisons. Research has also focused on racial and ethnic differences in sentence length specifically for people convicted of drug offenses (Brennan & Spohn, 2009;Helms & Constanza, 2010;Omori, 2017;Spohn, 2013;Spohn & Sample, 2013;Stringer & Holland, 2016;Ward et al, 2016), in response to the stark reality that Black people are admitted to U.S. prisons for drug offenses at more than 10 times the rate of White people (Beatty et al, 2007).…”

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confidence: 99%

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County-Level Context and Sentence Lengths for Black, Latinx, and White Individuals Sentenced to Prison: A Multi-Level Assessment

Durante

2021

Criminal Justice Policy Review

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This article examines the relationship between race, ethnicity, county-level contextual variables, and sentence lengths for Black, Latinx, and White individuals sentenced to prison. Hierarchical linear modeling is used to examine the focal concerns perspective, the racial/ethnic threat thesis, socioeconomic inequality across racial/ethnic groups, political climate, and individual-level factors and sentence lengths. Data come from the National Corrections Reporting Program and other sources to examine sentences for over 500,000 individuals admitted to U.S. prisons between 2015 and 2017, from 751 counties. Results indicate that Black and Latinx individuals receive longer sentences than their White counterparts, even after controlling for relevant variables. The racial/ethnic threat thesis is not supported. Black individuals are sentenced longer than their White counterparts in counties with larger shares of Republican voters. Findings indicate that race and ethnicity continue to be salient predictors of punishment, with Black and Latinx individuals facing harsher outcomes than their White counterparts.

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“…Black men constitute 38% of the U.S. prison population but only 6% of the U.S. adult population (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2022). Decades of research in criminology, legal studies, and sociology document the contribution of sentencing biases to these disparities (Bushway & Piehl, 2001;Nowacki, 2015;Tonry, 1997). By some estimates, Black citizens receive sentences that are almost 10% longer than those of Whites charged with the same crimes (Rehavi & Starr, 2014), despite state penal systems' adoption of sentencing guidelines designed to prevent racial discrimination (Spohn, 2000;Tonry, 1995;Zatz, 1987).…”

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confidence: 99%

Does “Jamal” receive a harsher sentence than “James”? First-name bias in the criminal sentencing of Black men.

Kenthirarajah¹,

Camp²,

Walton³

et al. 2023

Law and Human Behavior

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Objective: Using archival and experimental methods, we tested the role that racial associations of first names play in criminal sentencing. Hypotheses: We hypothesized that Black defendants with more stereotypically Black names (e.g., Jamal) would receive more punitive sentences than Black defendants with more stereotypically White names (e.g., James). Method: In an archival study, we obtained a random sample of 296 real-world records of Black male prison inmates in Florida and asked participants to rate the extent to which each inmate's first name was stereotypically Black or stereotypically White. We then tested the extent to which racial stereotypicality was associated with sentence length, controlling for relevant legal features of each case (e.g., criminal record, severity of convicted offenses). In a follow-up experiment, participant judges assigned sentences in cases in which the Black male defendant was randomly assigned a more stereotypically Black or White name from our archival study. Results: Controlling for a wide array of factors-including criminal record-we found that inmates with more stereotypically Black versus White first names received longer sentences β = 0.09, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) [0.01, 0.16]: 409 days longer for names 1 standard deviation above versus below the mean on racial stereotypicality. In our experiment, participant judges recommended significantly longer sentences to Black inmates with more stereotypically Black names above and beyond the severity of the charges or their criminal history, β = 0.07, 95% CI [0.02, 0.13]. Conclusions: Our results identify how racial associations with first names can bias consequential sentencing decisions despite the impartial aims of the legal system. More broadly, our findings illustrate how racial biases manifest in distinctions made among members of historically marginalized groups, not just between members of different groups. Public Significance StatementWe identify a pernicious yet understudied source of racial bias in criminal sentencing among Black defendants: the perceived racial-ethnic associations of offenders' first names. Our results suggest that the stereotypical associations attached to first names lead to inequitable and punitive outcomes.

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Race, Ethnicity, and Judicial Discretion

Abstract: Without question, discretion plays an important role in the criminalsentencing process.

Cited by 20 publications

References 51 publications

Within-race variations in sentencing outcomes: Nationality and punishment among Asians in United States federal courts

Within-race variations in sentencing outcomes: Nationality and punishment among Asians in United States federal courts

County-Level Context and Sentence Lengths for Black, Latinx, and White Individuals Sentenced to Prison: A Multi-Level Assessment

Does “Jamal” receive a harsher sentence than “James”? First-name bias in the criminal sentencing of Black men.

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