Unfair Treatment of Minorities in the Criminal Justice System - Essay Example

UNFAIR TREATMENT OF MINORITIES IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM I. Introduction The U.S. criminal justice system has come under critical public scrutiny in the recent years for one of the age-old problems afflicting the nation - racial discrimination. In a 2000 report published by a coalition of civil rights organizations, researchers observe that while the nation has made significant progress toward the objective of ensuring equal treatment for all citizens under law, in the one of the most critical area - the criminal justice - racial inequality is significantly on the rise. While the criminal laws are apparently neutral and the criminal justice system is explicitly based on the notion and promise of equality before law, the administration and enforcement of these laws are vitally and pervasively biased against minorities. According to the report the "massively and pervasively biased" treatment of blacks and Hispanics by the US police and courts is the major civil rights problem that America face in the twenty-first century. [Weich and Angulo, 2000] The present research attempts a review of criminal justice administration in the U.S. with a view to establishing the thesis that minorities, Blacks and Latinos, are discriminated against at every stage within the criminal justice system - the racial minorities are charged with more serious crimes, have less opportunity to plea-bargain, are convicted more frequently, and receive harsher sentences when compared with Caucasians in similar situations. The scope of the research is limited to the extent of establishing the thesis and shall not attempt to analyze the underlying causes and/or examine the possible strategies for ensuring equal justice to all. II. Review of Literature It is significant to note that the issue of unfair treatment of minorities has been a subject of research and academic interest by mainly social science researchers and lawyers. While researchers tend to disagree on the sources of disparity or overrepresentation of minorities, as to whether it is due to disproportionate involvement in criminal offenses or to criminal justice system biases, there is a general consensus that minorities are disproportionately represented and are treated unfairly at almost every stage of the justice system. [Kramer and Steffensmeir, 1993; Blumstein, 1993; Cole, 1999] A review of the available research is attempted to understand how researchers have approached and addressed the issue. According to Coramae Mann, racial discrimination is endemic to the United States; it permeates the criminal justice system and all other American institutions, resulting in the unjust treatment of racial minorities. She claims that when the "more flagrant, systemic means of economic and political control of minorities used in the past were no longer feasible or morally acceptable ... criminal law began to be used to warehouse American minorities and maintain their unequal status." [Mann, 1993; p. 127] David Cole, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and an attorney with Center for Constitutional Rights, who studied unequal racial justice in the U.S. claims that "our [the U.S.] criminal justice system affirmatively depends on inequality" [Cole, 1999; p.5] He claims that in the absence of race and class disparities the criminal justice system could not have afforded the policy of mass incarceration pursued since the 1980s. Cole claims that African Americans, who constitute 12 percent of the general population, comprise more than half of the prison population and have higher arrest and conviction rates, serve longer sentences, face higher bail amounts and are often victims of police use of deadly force than white citizens. [Cole, 1999; p.4] According to Cassia Spohn, blacks and Hispanics who are young, male, and unemployed are particularly more likely than their white counterparts to be sentenced to prison and receive longer sentences in some jurisdictions. Spohn's study also claim that minorities convicted of drug offences, those with longer prior criminal records, those who victimize whites, and those who refuse to plead guilty or are unable to secure pre-trial release are punished more severely than similarly situated whites. [Spohn, 2000] Analyzing the overall racial composition of the state prison population in 1991, criminologist Alfred Blumstein had commented that 76% of the higher black rate of imprisonment could be accounted for by higher rates of arrest for serious offences, and the remaining 24% of disparity, could be explained by criminal histories and other factors such as racial bias. His study counters the stereotypical notion that southern states are more likely to practice racial discrimination, by presenting the highest ratios of black-to-white incarceration rates in the liberal northern and midwestern states like Connecticut, Minnesota, and New Jersey, as compared to Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina, which have the lowest. [Blumstein, 1993] Bridges et al suggests that as minority population increase, especially in urban areas where crime is more intense and minorities tend to be segregated, there may be a heightened sense that minorities represent a threat to community order. Consequently, law enforcement officials adopt informal strategies for controlling crime that have racially disparate impacts. [Bridges et al, 1987] Butler suggests that even though conscious discriminatory intent may not exist, the criminal justice system is presently administered in a racially discriminatory fashion. [Butler, 1997] According to Professor Angela Davis the practical effect of the law enforcement discretion is "the assimilation of . subjective beliefs, biases, hunches, and prejudices into law;" and that evidence suggests that the discretion is exercised to the detriment of America's minorities.[Davis, 1998; p.27] In his book "Race to Incarcerate" Marc Mauer observes that the wide-ranging effects of the race to incarcerate on African American communities "is a phenomenon that is only beginning to be investigated." [Mauer, 1999; p.12] III. Definitions Before attempting a research and review of the criminal justice administration to estimate the level of unfair treatment of minorities, it may be worthwhile to define certain terms that are used frequently, within the scope and context to ensure consistency in understanding. Racial Discrimination: Racial discrimination refers to the differential treatment of people on the basis of characteristics, which may be classified as racial, including skin color, cultural heritage, and religion. Within the scope of the paper, the term refers to unfair treatment of racial and ethic minorities. Racial Disparity: Racial disparity may be said to exist when the proportion of a racial/ethnic group within the control of the criminal justice system is greater than the proportion of such groups in the general population. While racial disparity may not be by itself suggestive of unfair treatment of minorities, when analyzed from a comparative perspective in relation to the different classes of people it may be suggestive of the unfair treatment of the particular racial/ethnic group. Racial and Ethnic Minorities - Racial and ethnic minorities are sections of population classified on the basis of race and ethnicity. While racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. encompass a wide range of classes, the research shall limit to Blacks or African American (minorities based on skin color), and Hispanics or Latinos (based on culture or origin), being the 'major' class of minorities. IV. Research Methodology The research shall essentially adopt a content analysis method - quantitative and qualitative analysis of textual data from a variety of sources. Data has been gathered from the surveys and studies by governmental and non-governmental agencies, the 2000 report Justice on Trial: Racial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System prepared for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights presents as a prominent source of information and guidance for research in establishing the thesis. Studies and observations by researchers in the form of books, journals, and other publications have also been consulted and analyzed towards ascertaining the issue of unfair treatment of minorities in criminal justice system. Care has been taken to cover maximum of field studies, quasi-experimental research and archival data, so as to ensure the reliability and validity of the data. V. Unfair Treatment of Minorities in Criminal Justice System -Analysis According to the Department of Justice statistics, in 1930, 77 percent of the people admitted to U.S. prisons were white, 22 percent were African American and other racial and ethnic minorities accounting for the balance one percent. [Bureau of Justice Statistics; 1994 p.14] By 2000 the proportion of African Americans and Latinos is reportedly reversed with African Americans and Latinos accounting for about 60 to 70 percent of all federal and state prisoners. [Weich and Angulo, 2000] Not only does this reversal suggests the rising racial discrimination, when seen in the light of the total percentage of Blacks and Latinos in the general population, the figures present the prevalence of racial disparity, which in turn suggest the unfair treatment of these minorities within the criminal justice system. It may be revealing to note that while Black constitute about 12 percent, Hispanics or Latinos constitute about just 13 percent of the American population. Research suggests that the unfair treatment of minorities occurs at all stages within the criminal justice system - The report Justice on Trial: Racial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System (2000) presents how Blacks, Hispanics and other minorities are victimized by disproportionate targeting and unfair treatment by police and other front-line law enforcement officials; by racially biased charging and plea bargaining decisions of prosecutors; by discriminatory sentencing practices by judges; and the failure of judges, elected officials, and other criminal justice policymakers to redress the inequities within the system. [Weich and Angulo, 2000] In a study, conducted by the National Council on Crime and Juvenile Delinquency it was found that black and Hispanic youth were much more likely to be referred to juvenile court, be detained, face trial as adults and incarcerated, than white youth who commit comparable crimes. The study, which used federal and state arrest and court data, claims that when minority and white youth were charged with the same offences, black youth who had no prior arrest record were six times more likely to be incarcerated than white youth with similar backgrounds. Hispanic youth were three times more likely to be incarcerated. More significantly, the report rejects the claim that the disparities are simply the result of the higher arrest rate for minority youth stating that that while 71 percent of youth arrested were white, 60 percent of youth sent to prison were black. In 1997, of 7,400 young people sent to prison, three-quarters were minorities. [Jones, 2000] The practice of racial profiling, or identification of potential criminal suspects based on skin color and ethnicity, by the police, other law enforcement agencies as well as government, has been reported by many researchers. [Weich and Angulo, 2000] The practice obviously suggests bias against minorities: the routine, disproportionate targeting of black motorists - 'driving while black' syndrome - resulting in unduly humiliation of black drivers presents a striking example of unfair treatment of minorities. Reportedly, while about 70% of drivers stopped by highway patrolmen were blacks or Hispanics, the total black or Hispanic drivers were below 17.5%, sometimes as low as 5%. The minorities were detained for longer periods of time per stop than whites, and more than 80% of the cars searched were driven by black and Hispanic drivers. [Cole, 1999 p. 34-36] It is understood that traffic stops are often used as a pretext for investigating drug offences -- as blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately targeted in traffic stops, a incongruent number of blacks are arrested for nonviolent drug crimes. It is estimated that in the case of drug enforcement, where blacks comprise just 13% of drug users, 54% of those incarcerated for drug offenses are blacks [Weich and Angulo, 2000] Empirical evidence suggests that black youth were 48 times more likely than white youth to be sent to juvenile prison for drug-related offences. [Jones, 2000] In a study conducted in Baltimore, Maryland it was found that black youth were 100 times more likely to be arrested for selling drugs than white youth, even though drug use rates among black youth were nearly the same as those of white youth. [Weich and Angulo, 2000] The racially biased police strategies are not just unfair to minorities; researchers suggest that they actually place minorities in physical danger - the police shootings resulting in the tragic killings of black youths Amadou Diallo and Patrick Dorismond factory are pertinent cases. Corruption and police brutality are other common occurrences with minorities as against similarly placed whites. In a nationwide poll, 53% of respondents believed that police are more likely to use excessive force against black or Hispanic suspects than against white suspects. [In Weich and Angulo, 2000] The unbridled prosecutorial discretion to bring criminal charges against a suspect and the subsequent decision to grant plea-bargain representations as well as the sentencing authority vested with prosecutors in the recent years, make the prosecution stage a fertile ground for the exercise of racial bias and unfair treatment of minorities. [Weich and Angulo, 2000] The prosecutorial discretion in deciding whether to prosecute a drug case in federal court has important consequences for the defendant; federal sentences are notoriously harsher than state sentences. Reportedly between 1988 and 1994, hundreds of blacks and Hispanics were prosecuted by the United States Attorney in relation to crack cocaine offences; no whites were prosecuted at the federal court despite their involvement in such offences and sentencing by state courts [Weikel, 1995; p. A1] Research also suggests the unfair treatment of minority criminal defendants at the pre-trial negotiation stage -- the study conducted by the San Jose Mercury News based on a review of 700,000 California criminal cases between 1981 and 1990 found that 20 percent of white defendants charged with crimes providing for the option of diversion received that benefit, while only 14 percent of similarly situated blacks and 11 percent of similarly situated Hispanics were placed in such programs. The report suggests that during the pre-trial stage, a white felony defendant in 1989-90 with no prior criminal record stood a 33 percent chance of having the charge reduced to a misdemeanor or infraction, compared to 25 percent for a similarly situated black or Hispanic. [Schmitt, 1991] According to a U.S. Sentencing Commission report, for comparable offences, prosecutors offered white defendants plea bargains that permitted the imposition of sentences below what would otherwise be the statutory minimum more frequently than they offered such deals to blacks or Hispanic defendants. [In Weich and Angulo, 2000] The prosecutorial discretion in determining bail and seeking death penalties are other potential areas that work to the disadvantage of the minorities. While bail and imposition of death penalty are essentially judicial functions, prosecutors play a significant role in determining bail or seeking death penalty. Researchers observe that for comparable crimes minorities charged with felonies were detained more often than white defendants. Researchers studying death penalty patterns claim that blacks who kill whites were sentenced to death 22 times more frequently than blacks who killed blacks and seven times more frequently than whites who kill blacks. [In Weich and Angulo, 2000] The judicial sentencing phase, the most significant stage within criminal justice system, also present racial disparities and unfair treatment towards minorities. In a study conducted by in New York courts between 1990 and 1992, the researchers concluded that one-third of minorities sentenced to prison would have received a shorter or nonincarcerative sentence if they had been treated like similarly situated white defendants. [In Weich and Angulo, 2000] According to a Justice Department review of state sentencing, whites serve shorter prison terms than their black counterparts: while whites involved in drug crimes served an average of 27 months, blacks served 46 months. In case of violent felony offences, the terms are 79 months for whites as opposed to 107 months for blacks; in case of felony weapons offences 23 months for white as against 36 months for blacks. On the whole, in 1994, whites in state prisons nationwide served a mean time of 40 months, as compared to 58 months for blacks. [Brown and Langan, 1998] VI. Conclusion Research invariably suggests that all stages of the criminal justice system - beginning with policing and arrest and proceeding through prosecution and sentencing - present substantial racial and ethnic disparities and is characterized by the unfair treatment of minorities as compared to the white counterparts. The rate at which minorities, particularly youth, are incarcerated and the potential implications it presents to the community, calls for thoughtful analysis and urgent consideration by policy makers. While questions as to whether the racial discrimination towards minorities such as the blacks and Hispanic are a result of the beliefs and prejudices of the law enforcement officials or whether disparities are built into the very structure and doctrine of the criminal justice system remains to be resolved, unless and until the criminal justice system acknowledge the inequality that pervades the system and remedy them, America cannot realize the promise of equal justice to its people. VII. References 1. Blumstein, A. (1993) "Racial Disproportionality of U. S. Prison Populations Revisited." University of Colorado Law Review 64:743-760. 2. Bridges, G. S., Crutchfield R. D. and Simpson, E. E. (1987) "Crime Social Structure and Criminal Punishment: White and Nonwhite Rates of Imprisonment." Social Problems 34(4):345-361. 3. Brown J. M. and Langan, P. A. (March 1998) "State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1994," Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington D.C: U.S. Department of Justice 4. Bureau of Justice Statistics, (February 1994) "Race of Prisoners Admitted to State and Federal Institutions, 1926-1986," Washington, DC: Department of Justice. 5. Butler, P. (Fall 1997) "Affirmative Action: Diversity of Opinions-Affirmative Action and the Criminal Law," University of Colorado Law Review 68(4): 841. 6. Cole, D. (1999) No Equal Justice: Race and Class in the American Criminal Justice System. New York: New Press. 7. Davis A. J. (Oct. 1998) "Prosecution and Race: The Power and Privilege of Discretion" Fordham Law Review 67: 13-67 8. Jones, S. (May, 2000) "Report finds pervasive racial bias in US juvenile justice system" Available at: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/may2000/juve-m02.shtml Accessed 1/22/06 9. Kramer, J. & Steffensmeir, D. (1993) "Race and Imprisonment Decisions." Sociological Quarterly 34:357-76. 10. Mann, C. R. (1993) Unequal Justice: A Question of Color Bloomington: Indiana University Press 11. Mauer, M. (1999) Race to Incarcerate New York: The New Press 12. Schmitt, C. (1991) "Plea Bargaining Favors Whites, as Blacks, Hispanics Pay Price," The San Jose Mercury News, Dec. 8 13. Spohn, C. C. (2000) "Thirty Years of Sentencing Reform: The Quest for a Racially Neutral Sentencing Process," in Policies, Processes, and Decisions of the Criminal Justice System, Vol. 3. Washington, DC: Department of justice. 14. Weich R. and Angulo, C. (2000) "Justice on Trial: Racial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System" Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Leadership Conference Education Fund Available at: http://www.civilrights.org/publications/cj/ Accessed 1/22/06 15. Weikel, D. (1995) "War on Crack Targets Minorities over Whites," The Los Angeles Times, May 21. Read More