Racing justice: Mass incarceration and perceptions of courts

Abstract

This article examines how the emergence of mass incarceration in the United States affected public perceptions of its judicial institutions. Analyses of General Social Survey data collected between 1974 and 2018 indicate that the rising incarceration rate was associated with distinctive changes to Blacks' and Whites' views of courts. As the incarceration rate increased, Blacks' confidence in courts and the legal system fell while Whites' confidence grew. The rising incarceration rate was also associated with a growing Black-White fissure in confidence in the Supreme Court. Finally, although Blacks and Whites each became more likely to believe that courts are too punitive as incarceration increased, the change in these attitudes was twice as large among Blacks than Whites. Overall these results suggest that mass incarceration contributed to a rift in Blacks' and Whites' support for judicial institutions. This article also underscores the importance of macro-level institutional contexts for understanding individuals’ perceptions of institutional authorities.