NCJ Number
148984
Date Published
1993
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper examines patterns of racial discrimination in judicial sentencing in Australia and analyzes remedial efforts.
Abstract
The limited empirical studies of judicial racial bias in Australia do not show overt general patterns of unfavorable discriminatory sentencing of Aboriginal offenders. The fact that Aboriginal defendants appear in disproportionate numbers before the courts is not due to judicial decisionmaking but rather to police decisionmaking. Consideration of criminal history in sentencing also places Aboriginal offenders at a disadvantage because of their more frequent contacts with the criminal justice system. There are, however, many individual cases of direct judicial racial discrimination in sentencing that have been well publicized. One of the major Royal Commission recommendations in its review of a particular case of discriminatory sentencing of a female Aboriginal offender was that judicial officers should be trained in Aboriginal culture and related criminal justice issues. It is unrealistic to expect, however, that such limited training will enable non-Aboriginal judicial officers to reflect Aboriginal culture in their decisionmaking. A more realistic approach is to assert the principles of self-determination and the right for indigenous people to develop their own justice mechanisms. A 34-item bibliography