Cumulative Disadvantage: Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparity in Prosecution and Sentencing

It is well-established that the criminal justice system has extreme racial disparities. However, there is little research available on the racial disparities present in the case-processing stages preceding imprisonment. This article specifically focuses on the racial disparities in prosecutors’ charging and plea-bargaining decisions by analyzing 185,275 criminal cases handled by the New York County District Attorney’s Office. The data revealed significant racial and ethnic disparities disadvantaging Black and Latino defendants in plea offers, pretrial detention, and the use of incarceration. However, contrary to the researchers’ hypothesis, Black and Latino defendants had their cases dismissed at a higher rate than White defendants. Black and Latino defendants were also more likely to be subject to harsher combinations of punitive decisions and more likely to experience disparate treatment for violent crimes where racial biases are the most prevalent. The results further revealed that Asian-American defendants received the most favorable outcomes, possibly due to the fact that they have not been linked to the same negative stereotypes as Black and Latino defendants.

“[S]trong evidence emerged for racial and ethnic disparity in pretrial detention, plea offers, and the use of incarceration. Black and Latino defendants were significantly disadvantaged for each of these outcomes. Unexpectedly, they had higher odds of case dismissal than White defendants.” p. 538