NCJ Number
227913
Journal
Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law and Society Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2009 Pages: 203-221
Date Published
June 2009
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether the interaction between race and ethnicity and pretrial release was an important predictor of sentence type and incarceration length.
Abstract
The results only partially support the research indicating direct sentencing disadvantages for minority defendants. These data indicate that while African-Americans and Hispanics who were subject to pretrial detention in Dade County were more likely to receive a period of incarceration as a sentence, African-Americans who were subjected to pretrial detention in Orange County were actually less likely to be sentenced to incarceration. Significant differences between the counties suggest that smaller-scale studies have the potential to uncover local and regional variations within State criminal justice systems that multi-state studies fail to capture. In an attempt to detect whether pretrial release remains a significant predictor of sentence type and length, this study analyzed a sample of felony filings in two Florida counties (Orange and Dade) during 1998. Two dependent variables were considered: type of sentence and the actual length of incarceration. The study was specifically interested in whether pretrial release had a differential impact on Hispanic and non-White defendants compared to Whites. Tables and references