Race Discrimination Cases

When individuals think of the criminal justice system, the first images that come to their minds are a judge, jury full of people, the prosecution, and the defense. These images are what make up the courtroom environment, however, no one realizes how skin color affects what happens in the courtroom. Although race should not be a factor in determining said person’s sentencing, it is and sadly results in wrongful convictions as well as riots and protests as of recently. In the Independent.co.uk article and the Corrections.com article both entitled “Is the Criminal Justice System Fair,” deliberate on the capability of the criminal justice system and question why individuals might view the system as unfair. In the article “What Happened in Ferguson,” produced by The New York Times, explains the events that took place from the death of Michael Brown to the trial of Darren Wilson, the police officer who killed him, to the aftermath after the trial. Although the criminal justice system has a negative connotation associated with its name, the fact-based website, Snopes.com, determines whether the negative reputation against the criminal justice system is true or something that has been exploited by the media.

The bias in the American criminal justice system is first reported in the first stages of the system, which includes the (act of asking questions and trying to find the truth about something) and arrest of the suspected people by police personnel (American Civil Liberties Union, 2013). These police personnel discriminately target the minorities as criminal suspects, which eventually skews the racial population of the people arrested, charged, put in jail or convicted (Cole, Smith, & DeJong, 2013). One of the key problems suffering (from sickness) the U.S. criminal justice system is (assuming certain races of people are more likely to commit crimes) (Cole, Smith, & DeJong, 2013). This involves the identification of criminal suspects on the basis race or (special way of speaking/mark that shows emphasis). According to Cole, Smith, & DeJong (2013), (assuming certain races of people are more likely to commit crimes) is widespread because the police agents enjoy a large amount of (ability to make wise decisions) as to who they think about/believe as a suspect. For example, in Baltimore, African-American car/truck drivers are discriminately stopped for minor traffic offenses because they are believed to be more likely tobe start/work at more serious criminal activity than whites (Saad, 2011). This results in a large percentage of innocent African-Americans and other minority drivers such as Puerto Ricans, Colombians and Cubans to be illegally subjected to the embarrassment (in

In modern-day America the issue of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system is controversial because there is substantial evidence confirming both individual and systemic biases. While there is reason to believe that there are discriminatory elements at every step of the judicial process, this treatment will investigate and attempt to elucidate such elements in two of the most critical judicial junctures, criminal apprehension and prosecution.

The author of this article is Cornelia Grumman won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003 and found the organization the First Five Years Fund where she advocated for stronger federal policies. The audience she could be targeting would be the government to create stricter guidelines when imposing capital punishment. The purpose of this article is to give awareness of how race can create bias factors in the justice system. It has been commonly seen

When looking at illegal actions and activities, also known as crimes, people of all color commit them. Whether people commit lesser or more excessive crimes, the action will be committed by a multitude of races. People of all colors are able to achieve the standards that have been set by society. When looking at the statistics, the evidence shows that people of color, especially African Americans tend to get harder and more solemn charges for the crimes that they have committed. What people might not notice is that there is a racial bias in the judicial system. That bias is changing the outcome of indictments. With all of the change going on in the United States of America, one untouched subject is the racial bias in the judicial system. If a change does not occur now, then when will there ever be a change? There is a racial bias in the judicial system, and a change needs to occur now.

The criminal justice system of America is deeply scarred with racial bias. Crimes are being committed and, in turn, are resulting with innocent people doing hard-time. Thankfully, newfound methods of appealing court rulings are finding justice for these minorities; however, the results are as shocking as the crimes being committed. When it was found that the majority of successful appeals were of minorities, the true defects of the system was apparent. The minority community is being critically judged for things they’re not doing.

Race is one of the most controversial topics when speaking of bias, and still to this day race is occasionally believed to sway the judicial system’s decisions. A recent statistic proved that less than 5 years ago in North Carolina more than 52% of potential black jurors were cut, or peremptory challenged, meaning they removed from a case without reason (S.M.). Not only do jurors experience discrimination but suspects on trial have also suffered for decades. Evidence shows judges sentence black convicts to 20%

It is no surprise that most of America’s black, hispanic and other minority populations do not trust the criminal justice system. There is little debate on the fact that the system is racially biased. The facts are undeniable.

Another strong bias displayed in the judicial system is the obvious bias in criminal sentencing in the court. Many studies support the conclusion that people of color are sentenced longer in prison for the same crime as a white person (McElrath, Tran, and

The O.J. Simpson trial created a spotlight on what people like to call “a race-based” case. Discrimination and police brutality towards African Americans created a potency for the justice system. Over a number of years America still faces the same issues regarding race: “132 years after the Emancipation

The current study integrates past research and theory on racial bias in juror decision-making, positing that White mock jurors will demonstrate higher rates of false alarms in cases involving African American suspects. In other words, White jurors will be biased towards believing that African American suspects are guilty, thus assuming the stereotype of minority criminality. This hypothesis was formed based on prior research indicating the presence of White juror biases against Black defendants, and in-group/out-group racial biases (Sommers & Ellsworth,

During the tumultuous 1990s, there were many racial incidents, most famously the Rodney King incident. After the assault of African American Rodney King, an all white jury acquitted several white police officers of assaulting King (Kelly, 1). This led to the criminal justice system to be questioned if it “...was being fair to all individuals regardless of race or socio-economic status.” (Kelly, 1) When the Simpson trial started to form, Simpson’s “Dream Team” did everything they could in order to win the case, even if that meant exploiting the racial inequalities prominent at the time. According to author Carl E. Enomoto, “(Marcia) Clark further believed that the defense did everything possible to eliminate those potential jurors who were not black and who were educated. After all was said and done, the jury consisted of six black females, two black males, two Hispanics, one half Native-American male, and one white female (and twelve alternates).” (Enomoto, 147) This explains why the Mark Fuhrman tapes

The first reason that many see as proof of how the justice system has failed is that their are still many cases where people of color are discriminated against by police Police brutality is . A example of racism still existing is when George Zimmerman

Having a diverse bench is critical to having a successful criminal justice system. The United States court system follows a presumption of innocence, meaning those who enter a courtroom are presumed innocent until proven guilty. This presumption of innocence is not always found in the courtroom. Every courtroom actor, whether consciously or unconsciously, has a bias towards the defendant and may even presume guilt before the case begins. This is especially true when there is a white judge acting on cases involving a defendant who is a part of the minority. Judges who represent the minority are not only unbiased towards defendants of their own race, but they also bring new perspectives to the bench (Haire & Moyer, 2015). They present ideas, understandings, and

What is discrimination? Discrimination is treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit (dictionary.com,2010). In America, there has been many cases of discrimination from both the past and present. Statistics shows that 49% of African American and 11% of Hispanic feel a great deal of discrimination.(Episcopal News Service,2013) Discrimination and racism has some great similarities when it comes to the way people were treated and still being treated in today’s time. So, racism will be mentioned frequently. Therefore, I will discuss the difference between