NCJ Number
108104
Date Published
1987
Length
261 pages
Annotation
This book examines the emergence of a discriminatory pattern of treatment for Chicanos in the American legal system from the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848 to the present.
Abstract
The American invasion of Mexico and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo imposed an alien culture, language, and legal and judicial systems on Chicanos, and a variety of legal and extralegal mechanisms were used to appropriate their land and other possessions. The result was the emergence of a double standard of justice: one which applied to the Anglo-American and another to the Chicano. The U.S. legal system's view of Chicanos as bandits emerged as they responded to social abuses by violating the law to achieve justice. This image of Chicanos persists to the present because they have not passively accepted their economic and political exploitation. Specific issues addressed in this book include the displacement of Chicanos from the land, immigration law and the border patrol, police harassment and abuse, Chicano youth gangs, and prevailing criminological and social theories. The book concludes by proposing a new theoretical perspective for interpreting the double standard of justice experienced by Chicanos. 38 notes, subject index, and 360-item bibliography. (Publisher summary modified)