Race, Ethnicity, and Determinate Sentencing - A New Dimension to an Old Controversy

• NCJ Number: 94292
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: (May 1984) Pages: 147-171
• Author(s): M S Zatz
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 25 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: An earlier version was presented at the 1981 American Sociological Association annual meeting, Toronto, Canada

Annotation

A study of 4729 sentences handed out during the first year of determinate sentencing in California shows subtle differences in the sentencing of Whites, Blacks, and Chicanos.

Abstract

As expected, main effects of race/ethnicity are not found. However, the type of offense, mode of disposition, and the defendant's prior record do affect sentencing differently, even with determinate sentencing, depending on the defendant's race/ethnicity. The detrimental effect of a prior record for Chicanos is especially interesting as it can be invoked legally as a sentence enhancement. The findings reported here demonstrate that Chicanos constitute a separate group, distinct from both Blacks and Whites, and must be treated accordingly in criminological research. So doing clarifies many of the inconsistencies in prior sentencing research. (Publisher abstract)