Direct and Organizational Discrimination in the Sentencing of Drug Offenders

Abstract

This study examines direct and organizational discrimination in the sentencing of 313 convicted male drug offenders in Miami, Florida. Direct discrimination occurs if the defendant's race/ethnicity and/or economic status influences the judge's sentencing decision, after controlling for the effects of the seriousness of the defendant's prior record and present drug offense, the type of lawyer retained by the defendant, and the outcome of the bail proceedings. Organizational discrimination occurs if the economically disadvantaged and/or minority defendant cannot retain private attorneys or obtain pretrial release and these failures result in more severe sentences. I found both racial/ethnic discrimination and economic organizational discrimination in the sample.