NCJ Number
61806
Date Published
1979
Length
134 pages
Annotation
THE SENTENCING BEHAVIOR OF BLACK JUDGES AND THE TREATMENT OF BLACK DEFENDANTS IN AN URBAN TRIAL COURT WERE STUDIED TO EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COURTS AND RACE.
Abstract
TO UNDERSTAND THE POLITICS OF RACE IN COURTS, IT WAS NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND BASIC DEMOGRAPHIC AND POLITICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CITY, LOCATED IN THE NORTHEASTERN PART OF THE UNITED STATES. THE ABSENCE OF A BLACK POLITICAL MACHINE REQUIRED THAT SUCCESSFUL BLACK POLITICIANS BECOME DEPENDENT TO A CERTAIN EXTENT ON WHITE-DOMINATED POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS. BLACKS DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN CITY POLITICS AS A COHESIVE AND UNIFIED FORCE, AND BLACK POLITICIANS THEMSELVES HAD NOT BEEN PARTICULARLY CONSCIOUS ABOUT RACE. INFORMATION USED TO ANALYZE THE SENTENCING BEHAVIOR OF BLACK JUDGES AND THE TREATMENT OF BLACK DEFENDANTS WAS OBTAINED FROM JUDICIAL AUTOBIOGRAPHIES, CASE HISTORIES OF FELONY DEFENDANTS, AND PERSONAL INTERVIEWS. BACKGROUND DATA ON 16 BLACK AND 79 WHITE JUDGES WERE DERIVED, AND INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED WITH 25 COURT PERSONNEL AT VARIOUS TIMES BETWEEN 1975 AND 1978. DATA ON DEFENDANTS INCLUDE FELONY CASES DOCKETED AND DISPOSED OF BETWEEN JULY 1968 AND JUNE 1974. IN EVALUATING DEFENDANT TREATMENT, 43,602 CASES DISPOSED OF VIA BENCH TRIALS, JURY TRIALS, OR GUILTY PLEAS WERE EXAMINED, ALONG WITH SENTENCES METED OUT TO 32,731 BLACK AND WHITE DEFENDANTS FOUND GUILTY IN THESE DELIBERATIONS. FINDINGS REVEALED THAT RACE-RELATED BACKGROUND DIFFERENCES WERE MINIMAL ON THE CITY'S COURTS. IMPORTANT IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE JUDICIARY WERE INFORMAL REQUIREMENTS OR PREREQUISITES FOR JUDICIAL SERVICE. CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS LOCALISM, QUALITY EDUCATION, PROSECUTORIAL EXPERIENCE, PRIVATE PRACTICE, LIMITED POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT, AND EXTENSIVE PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES WERE SHARED BY A MAJORITY OF TRIAL COURT JUDGES. BLACK JUDGES MET AND, AT TIMES, SURPASSED INFORMAL STANDARDS APPLIED TO THEIR WHITE COLLEAGUES. BLACK JUDGES TENDED TO CONVICT AND SENTENCE BLACK DEFENDANTS MORE OFTEN AND MORE HARSHLY THAN WHITE DEFENDANTS. SUPPORTING DATA AND BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTES ARE INCLUDED. APPENDIXES CONTAIN A SENTENCE SEVERITY SCALE AND OPERATIONAL RACE-SENTENCING PATH MODEL CORRELATIONS. AN INDEX IS PROVIDED. (DEP)