Racial Bias And The Civil Justice System

Racial inequality is growing. Our criminal laws, while facially neutral, are enforced in a manner that is massively and pervasively biased. My research will examine the U.S. criminal justice policies and how it has the most adverse effect on minorities. According to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, out of a total population of 1,976,019 incarcerated in adult facilities, 1,239,946 or 63 percent are

Although saying the criminal justice system is racist is a controversial statement, there is evidence and statistics that prove it to be true. Research and evidence validate the issue of racism to be undeniable. Equality and justice are out of reach with the racism that takes place in our criminal justice system and our country. Racial discrimination is prevalent amongst the African American culture in issues regarding drug use, and incarceration which creates unfair inequality for this race. I will use peer reviewed articles to verify the racial disparity in the criminal justice system.

“The system is not fair. Institutional racism is alive and well in the juvenile justice system as it is in the criminal justice system, due to racial disparity and bias in the court room” (Jones, Bridgett). This is a statement that plagues many people involved in the justice systems. There are huge racial disparities throughout the world. Post-Slavery: the early development of the Race/Crime Connection, Profiling: Racializing possible cause, and differential bias involvement as well as institutional racism. We can work on having better policies and procedures driven into police practices and we need to make sure people of color are not excluded from juries to stop most of the disparity.

There are large racial disparities in incarceration and related detainments for African Americans. They are more likely to be under the supervision of the Department of Corrections than any other racial or ethnic group (H.West, Sabol, & Greenman, 2010). Institutional racism is believed to be the reason why African Americans, especially males, are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. On balance, the public believes that discrimination against black people is based on the prejudice of the individual person, correlates to the discrimination built into the nation’s laws and institutions (Pew’s Research Center, 2017). This belief is actually supported through several experimental studies that provide evidence that African Americans are to be seen as more criminal and threatening than others thus more likely to be arrested or even shot (Greenwald, Oakes, & Hoffman, 2003). Racism within the criminal justice system very much exists and is still relevant.

In today’s society, discrimination continues to affect millions of minorities from inappropriate name calling to being shot by a law enforcement officer because you were perceived to be dangerous. The underlying effects of racial discrimination are seen in all aspects of our society, especially in our social institutions. These social institutions range from the educational system to our government, yet racial discrimination is more evident in the criminal justice system. When analyzing how the criminal justice system discriminates against minorities we are able to do so through the visible disparities within the system. Unfortunately, these disparities display African Americans having the highest population rates in the criminal justice system, therefore, we can immediately conclude this disparity in population is due to the injustices conducted by the system. Thus, there is a need for urgent change not just within the criminal justice system but within all social institutions beginning with our government. This change should create greater opportunities for minorities to enter the political field in our government as well as promoting higher participating in voting. Yet, the criminal justice system within all its aspects practices discrimination due to its deeply interwoven prejudice, institutional racism, and socioeconomic status.

The intersection of racial dynamics with the criminal justice system is one of longstanding duration. In earlier times, courtrooms in many jurisdictions were comprised of all white decision-makers. Today, there is more diversity of leadership in the court system, but race still plays a critical role in many

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 existence of racial disparity and structural inequality within the criminal justice system renders the concept of true justice for all unobtainable. The statistics of convictions and prison sentences by race definitely support the concept that discrimination is a problem in the justice system as well as the insignificantly number of minority judges and lawyers. There are a multitude of circumstances that influence these statistics according to the “Central Eight” criminogenic risk factors. The need for programs and methods to effectively deter those at risk individuals has never been greater and the lack of such programs is costing society in countless ways.

Few in this country would argue with the fact that the United States criminal justice system possesses discrepancies which adversely affect Blacks in this country. Numerous studies and articles have been composed on the many facets in which discrimination, or at least disparity, is obvious. Even whites are forced to admit that statistics indicate that the Black community is disproportionately affected by the American legal system. Controversy arises when the issue of possible causes of, and also solutions to, these variations are discussed. It’s not just black versus white, it is white versus white, and white versus oriental, whatever the case may be, and it is not justice. If we see patterns then the judges should have the authority to say something. Jury nullifications cannot be overturned regardless of the cause. Exclusionary rule, according to CULS (2010) – Prevents the government from using most evidence gathered in violation of U.S. Constitution; like unreasonable search and seizure (Fourth Amendment).

Discrimination is a known concept that happens everywhere, yet police and prosecutors are blind to it. Their ways of preventing crime are discriminatory in every sense of the word and they categorize people based on their skin color and where they reside. The disproportionate minority contact with the stop and frisk method is one of the ways that discrimination can be seen. “Code of the Street” and “Law and Disorder in Philadelphia” help dissect why discrimination is not seen by police and their agencies and also how police officers and their administration go about ways of preventing crime. The pressure within the police, community, and courts create inequalities for the individuals going through the Criminal Justice System.

ATTENTION: How is justice presented in our society? No one likes to be treated unjustly. No matter what your race may be or what gender you are; everyone should be treated fairly. For the world to have a moral society, people have to see each other without a sense of bias. When people base their opinions on one aspect of a person, they begin to judge them and look down on them. Justice can be apprehended when everyone is seen as equal and human, no matter what race or gender. The concept of stereotyping places a false impression on a group of people and makes others see them differently than who they are. If people would push back the assumptions that all people who have the same beliefs or ideas are exactly alike, everyone would be viewed

Colorblindness is the ideal that one is not influenced by racial prejudice, but it is just that, an ideal. In effect, the criminal justice system is also colorblind. Alexander writes that in the “era of colorblindness, it is no longer socially permissible to use race explicitly as justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt” (p. 21). If we can’t talk about race in order to address racism, how can we expect progress on this issue? “It is important to talk about race openly and honestly”, writes Alexander (p. 111), in this way, we can achieve color consciousness, the opposite of

(Ghandnoosh, 2014) implies that “Through codified practices and use of discretion, criminal justice professionals contribute to the overrepresentation of people of color in the correctional population” (p. 26). Throughout the readings, I have found that racial bias permeates the criminal justice system. Furthermore, I have examined the different effects on children with parental imprisonment. Additionally, in the readings, Ghandnoosh observes how racial perceptions affect punitiveness. Overall, the observation was informative and a new experience for me in relation to the court system.

For many years since the start of the criminal justice system there has been discrimination, although during the earlier times it was never looked at as a big problem. Going back to court cases from the civil rights era there is obvious proof of the racism and discrimination but nothing was ever questioned. Now in the year 2017 although the justice system has come a long way the disappointing reality of our society is that there are many corrupt parts within this system and discrimination within the criminal justice administration is still relevant and it is still continuing to happen.

From the days of slavery in which black people were considered property, through the years of lynchings and Jim Crow laws, punishment has always been deeply affected by race. Unfortunately, the days of racial bias in the court system still exist. The race on