Term Paper on "Judicial Discrimination"

Term Paper 20 pages (5603 words) Sources: 6 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Racial Discrimination in the Courts

In the past few decades, the media has publicized the overcrowding of the United States prison system, raising concern among the families of prisoners, correctional facilities and government officials alike. Although with this overcrowding is the issue that the majority of the prison population consists of minorities, thus raising the debate regarding racial discrimination upheld by the court system. Prison-related research indicates that mandatory sentencing guidelines and a growing number of drug-related convictions are factors in a continued growth of inmates held in federal, state and local prisons and jails in the United States. All state and federal prisons appear to be overcrowded, some as much as 33% higher than their official capacities. Statistics indicate that sixty-eight percent of prison and jail inmates were members of racial or ethnic minority groups. According to the research, white non-Hispanics comprise 43.6% of the local jail population, blacks 39.2%, Hispanics 15.4%, and other races (Asians, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders) 1.8% (Evaline, 2007). Black guards comprise only 3% of the prison workforce, and Hispanics represent less than 1% of the guard force (Evaline, 2007). These numbers indicate the clear over-representation of minorities in the prison system; this paper will analyze and discuss judicial discrimination and the manner in which the courts treat different ethnic and minority groups.

Racial Discrimination as a result of the Mandatory Sentencing Guidelines review of the literature reveals that the core of judicial and racial discrimination in the courts is based on the problems resulting from the mandatory sentencing laws and their reforms. In 1986 Congress enacted mandatory minimum sentencing laws, which forced judges to deliver fixed sentences to individuals convicted of a crime, regardless of culpability or other mitigating factors. Federal mandatory drug sentences are determined based on three factors: the type of drug, weight of the drug mixture (or alleged weight in conspiracy cases), and the number of prior convictions (Drug Policy Alliance, 2007). In determining these sentences, judges are unable to consider other important factors such as the offender's role, motivation, and the likelihood of recidivism. Only by providing the prosecutor with "substantial assistance," (information that aids the government in prosecuting other offenders) may defendants reduce their mandatory sentences (Drug Policy Alliance, 2007). Research blames the incentives related to providing false information by individuals charged with drug offenses in order to receive a shorter sentence. The original intent of mandatory sentencing was to target "king pins" and managers in drug distribution networks, however in reality only 5.5% of all federal crack cocaine defendants and 11% of federal drug defendants are high-level drug dealers.

Numerous studies as well as the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Department of Justice have both concluded that mandatory sentencing fails to deter crime. Furthermore, mandatory minimums have worsened racial and gender disparities and have contributed greatly toward prison overcrowding (Drug Policy Alliance, 2007). Mandatory minimum sentencing has been widely criticized and being both costly and unjust, and fails to eliminate sentencing disparities. The strongest argument against mandatory sentencing is that it is responsible for sending record numbers of minorities to prison. Statistics indicate that more than 80% of the increase in the federal prison population from 1985 to 1995 was due to drug convictions by minorities. In the years after Congress enacted the federal mandatory drug sentences, the average federal drug sentence for African-Americans was 11% higher than for whites. Furthermore, four years later, the average federal drug sentence for African-Americans was 49% higher (Drug Policy Alliance, 2007). Thus, the percentage of minority inmates in U.S. prisons has increased sharply since federal sentencing guidelines took effect, with blacks generally receiving harsher punishments than whites.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission conducted a 15-year study that examined whether uniformity in punishments resulted from the mandatory sentencing laws. The U.S. Sentencing Commission concluded that disparities existed among races and regions of the country. The percentage of whites in prison dropped sharply from nearly 60% in 1984 to about 35% in 2002 (Drug Policy Alliance, 2007). The U.S. Sentencing Commission attributed this decrease to a dramatic growth in Hispanics imprisoned on immigration charges, from 15% to 40%. The mandatory sentencing laws also widened the gap between sentences for blacks and whites; blacks and whites received an average sentence of slightly more than two years in 1984, blacks stayed in prison for about six years, compared with about four years for whites (Drug Policy Alliance, 2007). An estimated 12% of all black males in their twenties were in jails or prisons in June of 2006, as were an estimated 3.7% of Hispanic males and 1.6% of white males of the same age (Montaldo, 2007). Further statistics reveal that one out of every 28 black males are in state prison but only one out of 506 white males are in state prison (Montaldo, 2007). Thus, a black male is 18 times more likely to be in state prison than a white male, and about one out of four black males will have spent time in prison during his lifetime.

African-Americans in the Prison System

The increasing number of African-Americans in the prison system can be discussed within the context of a lack of higher education, as well as in terms of racial discrimination. It was not until the 1960s that the number and percentage of African-Americans, increased significantly. Responding to the civil rights movement, higher education opened its doors wider. In 1965, there were 274,000 African-Americans enrolled in institutions of higher education in both undergraduate and graduate programs, 4.8% of the total enrollment of 5,675,000. In 1970, this rose to 522,000, or 7%. By 1976, the increase mounted to 848,000, or 9.8%, and it peaked in 1980 at 1,107,000, or 10.2%.

On American campuses, the experience of increased racial and ethnic diversity is barely twenty years old. Until most recently, it was limited to the increased presence of African-Americans on white campuses. Research indicates that community colleges that have seen the greatest influx of minority students and have adapted the most to their needs. However, not all of these needs have been met, as illustrated in the numerous recent studies conducted by the Department of Education and private research companies.

African-Americans face significant obstacles that are usually not faced by the white culture. For example, these students are increasingly coming from single-parent homes, have experienced mental or physical abuse, have experienced substance abuse, and seek counseling for these personal and family mental health issues while attending college (Angelo, et. al., 1993). The growing violence in some poorer secondary schools and African-American neighborhoods has affected some students' pre-college educational experiences in ways totally foreign to the traditional student, and most of today's teachers were these traditional college students (Josephson, 1998). The 1998 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth, Survey Data on Youth Violence portrays a troubling picture of the attitudes and actions of America's youth regarding guns and violence. Unfortunately, the African-American population is a significant factor in these studies. According to the 1998 data, 24% of African-American male high school students, and 18% of African-American male middle school students, say they took a weapon to school at least once in the past year (Josephson, 1998). Additionally, in the 1998 study, males were substantially more likely to carry weapons than females and older students were more likely to carry weapons than younger ones. 5% of all African-American students 10 to 12 years of age reported to have taken a weapon to school (Josephson, 1998). 6% of all 13 to 14-year-olds reported to have taken a weapon to school (Josephson, 1998). On a separate question, 14% of African-American males in high school, and 9% of those in middle school, said they "sometimes" carried a weapon to school for protection (Josephson, 1998).

More disturbing, 59% of males in high school, and 35% of those in middle school said they could get a gun if they wanted to (Josephson, 1998). 70% of all high schoolers and 73% of all middle schoolers said they hit a person in the last twelve months because they were angry (Josephson, 2000). Problems such as these further the potential for incarceration and involvement in the drug trade. Furthermore, nearly one in six students African-American students reported to having been drunk during the past year and 9% said they were drunk two or more times (Josephson, 2000). A great number of these students have faced legal problems related to drugs, violence, and drug dealing. Many students drop out of high school as a result of the easy seduction of selling drugs, instead of completing high schools with no opportunity to attend college. For these students, the "get rich quick" route is a better alternative to working a minimum wage job. As a result, instead of attending college, many of these youths receive mandatory sentences for violating the drug laws, at a very early age. The mandatory sentencing laws do not operate in connection with the American educational system. For example, the mandatory minimum laws for crack cocaine… READ MORE

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