Objective. This study examines the effects of race of judge on sentencing decisions. Do black judges sentence offenders more severely/leniently than white judges, and do they use similar/different criteria in their decision making? Methods. Data are derived from two sources: (1) sentencing outcomes in Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1994 and (2) archival data on judge characteristics, such as race and time on the bench. Logit models were used to assess the effects of judges' race on the in/out or incarcerative decision, and ordinary least squares models were used to assess the effects on the length-of-term decision. Results. Results showed that black and white judges weighted case and offender information in similar ways when making punishment decisions, although black judges were more likely to sentence both black and white offenders to prison. Conclusion. The greater harshness of black judges suggests they may behave as "tokens" or that they have greater sensitivity to the costs of crime, in particular, within black communities. Although there were small race-of-judge effects, there also was much similarity in sentencing practices-suggesting that the job, not so much the individual, apparently makes the "judge."The search for racial influences on legal and criminal justice outcomes has been and continues to be a major enterprise in law, criminology, and the social sciences more generally (Sellin, 1935;Zatz, 1987;Hagan, 1987). In the area of criminal sentencing, there now exists an abundance of research on the effects of defendant's race on judges' decisions to impose punishment on convicted felons. The findings have varied widely (see the reviews in Dixon, 1995;Kramer and Steffensmeier, 1993; and Spohn, 1994). Although most studies show that black offenders receive somewhat harsher sanctions than whites, a few show that black defendants receive less severe sentences, and still others find few race differences or mixed results Myers and Talarico, 1987).