Racial/Ethnic Misdemeanor Sentencing Disparities

Abstract

Contextual discrimination, or the specific conditions under which judicial injustice manifests itself, has become an important concept for disentangling the complex interplay between legal and extra-legal variables and their effects on sentencing outcomes. Previous studies show evidence for contextual discrimination in felony sentencing. This study provides evidence through descriptive and multivariate analyses of contextual discrimination in misdemeanor sentencing. Small, yet significant direct discrimination against non-Whites was observed. At the same time, the findings showed that Whites received more severe sentences when convicted for more serious offenses. Several explanations for this finding are discussed as they relate to contextual discrimination. The findings indicate that more research is needed on the effects of contextual discrimination in felony and misdemeanor sentencing disparities.