Blame based on one's name? Extralegal disparities in criminal conviction and sentencing

Abstract

We examine whether the perceived ethnoreligious origin of defendant's name matters for criminal justice outcomes. Drawing on data on adjudication of drug offenses in Belgium, we find that defendants with a perceived Islamic name face on average three to five percentage points greater prospects of conviction than defendants with a Belgian name. The name effect is not discernible with respect to sentence severity, does not take place in custody decisions, affects primarily male defendants, magnifies the effect of prior criminal record, occurs only when the presiding judge has had limited opportunity for exposure to Islamic culture, and, importantly, obtains even for defendants who never physically appeared before the judge. Our findings are consistent with the interpretation that judges sometimes rely on defendant's name to form perceptions of defendant's ethnoreligious identity and, in turn, attributions of defendant's culpability. Any underlying judicial bias is likely implicit and not systemic in nature.