Racial Discrimination in the US Judicial System

2363 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: introduction of racial bias in the criminal justice system

Racial discrimination in the US judicial system has been a much studied subject. Within the past 15 years there have been several cases in our country that undisputedly point to law enforcement making decisions based solely on race. It is difficult to determine if these isolated incidents are a mirror of the system as a whole or products of individual free will. The fact that there are many different points in the court process where discrimination can happen is a main issue with trying to determine if any single group is favored in the judicial system. Statistically, 44% of the US prison population is black as of the 2000 US Census. The remainder population is made up of whites, Hispanics, and others. (1) But is this disproportional population a result of African Americans committing more crimes than other races, or is it due to minorities being targeted by law enforcement? By taking a detailed look at each step in the process it is possible to dissect the system as a whole and make an informed decision on the role of racism.

When an officer begins to investigate a possible crime, there are many factors that propel the progression of events. Everything from location to the attitude of people involved to an officer’s previous experience determines the outcome of the investigation. One very recent incident near Harvard University is a prime example of these elements coming into play. On July 16, 2009 Harvard Professor Henry Gates, Jr., an African American, was arrested by white Sgt. James Crowley. In his report, Sgt. Crowley stated that Gates was arrested “after being observed exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior, in a public place, directed at a uniformed police officer who was present investigating a report of a cr...

... middle of paper ...

...Commission attempted several times to reduce the discrepancy, basing the change on the scientific approach that crack and powder cocaine have the same chemical makeup. Thus far, the 1988 Act has yet to be reworded. Many attorneys have found ways to circumvent the system by working out plea bargains for lesser charges for cooperation with authorities. In the 2005 case of US v. Booker, the Supreme Court determined that a judge can only base a sentence on prior convictions and facts presented at trial. This also gave federal judges the right to sentence criminals outside of the Federal Guidelines range, as long as the court can explain “why a sentence outside of the Sentencing Guideline range better serves the relevant purposes set forth.” (6) Even though the racial discrepancies between crack and cocaine still exist, the debate on rewriting the laws continues.

Show More
Related

  • Diversity within the Criminal Justice System

    2181 Words  | 5 Pages

    This paper proposes that three major factors play a role in the high rate of convictions of black men versus whites and Hispanics. These factors are the lack of diversity among legal professionals in positions of power for decision-making, specifically those in the criminal justice system; secondly, the racial disparities that exist in arrest conviction and sentencing and thirdly, the incidence of discriminatory actions within the justice system. The paper seeks to examine litera...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of When A Heart Turns Solid Rock By Timothy Black

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    There have been different outcomes for different racial and gender groups in sentencing and convicting criminals in the United States criminal justice system. Experts have debated the relative importance of different factors that have led to many of these inequalities. Minority defendants are charged with ...

    Read More

  • Unmasking America: A Deeper Look at Social and Economic Injustices

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    Just Mercy’s Bryan Stevenson exposes some of these disparities woven around his presentation of the Walter McMillian case, and the overrepresentation of African-American men in our criminal justice system. His accounts of actors in the criminal justice system such as Judge Robert E. Lee and the D.A. Tom Chapman who refused to open up the case or provide support regardless of the overwhelmingly amount of inconsistencies found in the case. The fact that there were instances where policemen paid people off to testify falsely against McMillian others on death row significantly supports this perpetuation of racism. For many of the people of color featured in Stevenson’s book, the justice system was unfair to them wrongfully or excessively punishing them for crimes both violent and nonviolent compared to their white counterparts. Racism towards those of color has caused a “lack of concern and responsiveness by police, prosecutors, and victims’ services providers” and ultimately leads to the mass incarceration of this population (Stevenson, 2014, p. 141). Moreover the lack of diversity within the jury system and those in power plays into the already existing racism. African-American men are quickly becoming disenfranchised in our country through such racist biases leading to over 1/3 of this population “missing” from the overall American population because they are within the criminal justice

    Read More

  • Mass Incarceration as a Modern Racial Caste System

    1886 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the wake of President Obama’s election, the United States seems to be progressing towards a post-racial society. However, the rates of mass incarceration of black males in America deem this to be otherwise. Understanding mass incarceration as a modern racial caste system will reveal the role of the criminal justice system in creating and perpetuating racial hierarchy America. The history of social control in the United States dates back to the first racial caste systems: slavery and the Jim Crow Laws. Although these caste systems were outlawed by the 13th amendment and Civil Rights Act respectively, they are given new life and tailored to the needs of the time.In other words, racial caste in America has not ended but has merely been redesigned in the shape of mass incarceration. Once again, the fact that more than half of the young black men in many large American cities are under the control of the criminal justice system show evidence of a new racial caste system at work. The structure of the criminal justice system brings a disproportionate number of young black males into prisons, relegating them to a permanent second-class status, and ensuring there chances of freedom are slim. Even when minorities are released from prisons, they are discriminated against and most usually end up back in prisons . The role of race in criminal justice system is set up to discriminate, arrest, and imprison a mass number of minority men. From stopping, searching, and arresting, to plea bargaining and sentencing it is apparent that in every phases of the criminal justice system race plays a huge factor. Race and structure of Criminal Justice System, also, inhibit the integration of ex offenders into society and instead of freedom, relea...

    Read More

  • Police Brutality Essay

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the line of police force it is imperative to think outside of the box. Many people confuse a police officer’s curiosity as racial profiling and racism. However, this is how a police officer often finds the majority of their evidence. In many neighborhoods, there a dominant races that live within the community. For example, if a wealthy white man was driving around a predominantly minority-based community, it would be acceptable for a police officer to grow skeptical at this situation. It is obvious that man is out of place, and it is the police officer 's duty to further investigate the

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Racial Discrimination In America

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    Racial discrimination is a pertinent issue in the United States. Although race relations may seem to have improved over the decades in actuality, it has evolved into a subtler form and now lurks in institutions. Sixty years ago racial discrimination was more overt, but now it has adapted to be more covert. Some argue that these events are isolated and that racism is a thing of the past (Mullainathan). Racial discrimination is negatively affecting the United States by creating a permanent underclass of citizens through institutional racism in business and politics, and creating a cancerous society by rewriting the racist history of America. Funding research into racial discrimination will help society clearly see the negative effects that racism

    Read More

  • Is The Criminal Justice System Racially Biased?

    1740 Words  | 4 Pages

    race can be compared to SES non-whites have a more negative view of how often

    Read More

  • Racial Disparities in Drug Crime

    1961 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sampson, Robert J. and Janet L. Lauritsen. 1997. "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Crime and Criminal Justice in the United States." Crime and Justice 21:311-74. doi: 10.2307/1147634.

    Read More

  • Racial Disparity In The Criminal Justice System Essay

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    For much of the twentieth century, punishment and crime have portrayed some of the most powerful signs of the racial divide in the United States. Marginalized and the poor remains the most biased against the criminal justice scheme (Barak, 2010). Throughout the Americas. racial minorities were tried in white courtrooms by white juries. Class and race are challenging.

    Read More

  • Racial Disparities In The Criminal Justice System Essay

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though racism has always been a problem since the beginning of time, recently in the United States, there has been a rise in discrimination and violence has been directed towards the African American minority primarily from those in the white majority who believe they are more superior, especially in our criminal justice system. There are many different reasons for the ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system between the majority and the minority, but some key reasons are differential involvement, individual racism, and institutional racism to why racial disparities exist in

    Read More

  • Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Justice System

    4767 Words  | 10 Pages

    In modern-day America the issue of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system is controversial because there is substantial evidence confirming both individual and systemic biases. While there is reason to believe that there are discriminatory elements at every step of the judicial process, this treatment will investigate and attempt to elucidate such elements in two of the most critical judicial junctures, criminal apprehension and prosecution.

    Read More

  • Racial Inequalities in the Justice System

    1738 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many inequalities exist within the justice system that need to be brought to light and addressed. Statistics show that African American men are arrested more often than females and people of other races. There are some measures that can and need to be taken to reduce the racial disparity in the justice system. Racial disparity in the criminal justice system exists when the proportion of a racial or ethnic group within the control system is higher than the proportion of the group in the general population. The cause of this disparity varies and can include differences in the levels of criminal activity, law enforcements emphasis on particular communities, legislative policies, and/or decision making by one or more persons at some level in the criminal justice system.

    Read More

  • Racism: Incarceration of a Household Member and Hispanic Health Disparities

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many Americans pretend that the days of racism are far behind; however it is clear that institutional racism still exists in this country. One way of viewing this institutional racism is looking at our nation’s prison system and how the incarceration rates are skewed towards African American men. The reasons for the incarceration rate disparity are argued and different between races, but history points out and starts to show the reason of why the disparity began. Families and children of the incarcerated are adversely affected due to the discrimination as well as the discrimination against African American students and their likelihood of going to prison compared to the white student. African American women are also affected by the discrimination in the incarceration rate. Many white Americans don’t see how racism affects incarceration rates, and that African Americans are more likely to face discrimination from the police as well as being falsely arrested.

    Read More

  • Discrimination of Minorities in America

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is hard to believe that after electing a minority president, the United States of America can still be seen as a vastly discriminatory society. A question was posed recently after a viewing of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream…” speech of whether his dream has become a reality. After consideration, a majority of the viewers said no. Although many steps have been taken to improve racial equality in America, there is still no way to legislate tolerance. Dr. King’s message of equality for all has been lost in a black and white struggle over the taken meaning of his context. Until our society can allow all people to live in peace we will never truly achieve King’s dream. Case in point, referring to President Obama as our "our First Black President" should not be considered a statement of pride over how far we have come. Placing this racial qualifier, even in a positive light, only serves to point out his minority status, not the fact that he is the President of the United States. According to Dr. King's dream, a man or woman, black or white, would be viewed as President without qualifying their differences from mainstream America.

    Read More

  • Racial Disparities In Sentencing

    1536 Words  | 4 Pages

    This research essay discusses racial disparities in the sentencing policies and process, which is one of the major factors contributing to the current overrepresentation of minorities in the judicial system, further threatening the African American and Latino communities. This is also evident from the fact that Blacks are almost 7 times more likely to be incarcerated than are Whites (Kartz, 2000). The argument presented in the essay is that how the laws that have been established for sentencing tend to target the people of color more and therefore their chances of ending up on prison are higher than the whites. The essay further goes on to talk about the judges and the prosecutors who due to different factors, tend to make their decisions

    Read More

More about Racial Discrimination in the US Judicial System

Open Document