Racial and Ethnic Differences in Pretrial Release Decisions and Outcomes: A Comparison of Hispanic, Black, and White Felony Arrestees

The criminal justice system differentially processes and sanctions defendants. Though they significantly impact sentencing decisions, race and ethnicity play an even greater role in pre-trial release decisions (legal agents’ choices that directly affect defendants’ pre-trial release status) and pre-trial release outcomes (a function of pre-trial release decisions and defendants’ abilities to satisfy the associated conditions of release). Pre-trial release decisions are often made with incomplete information, subject to an incredible degree of prosecutorial and judicial discretion. Thus, defendants are particularly vulnerable to racial and ethnic disparities. This study uses felony defendant data from the nation’s seventy-five most populous counties for the years 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996 to conduct a multiple-regression analysis of the phenomenon. Hispanic defendants received the harshest pretrial release outcomes. They were more likely to encounter criminal stereotypes and less likely to have resources to avoid their negative implications. Hispanic defendants were most likely to be detained, denied bail, assigned higher bail amounts, and refused nonfinancial release options. White defendants fared the best, and Black defendants fared moderately. These patterns were most pronounced in drug cases. The study’s results indicate the importance of considering race and ethnicity to counter the detrimental effects of negative stereotypes.

“[I]t seems reasonable that the social disadvantages and criminal stereotypes of Hispanic Americans, in combination with highly discretionary decision making by court actors, especially at the pretrial stage, may contribute to the harsher treatment of Hispanic defendants in the criminal courts.” p. 883