Black Judges Are Tougher On Black And White Offenders, Study Says

May 28, 2002

University Park, Pa. - Black judges are significantly more likely than White judges to send both Black and White offenders to prison, especially those convicted of serious crimes and drug violations, a study shows. 

Like their White counterparts, Black judges use prior criminal history and offense seriousness, not the defendant's socioeconomic status, as the primary guidelines for their sentencing decisions.  Black judges, like White judges, also sentence Black defendants more harshly than White defendants, says study author Dr. Darrell Steffensmeier, professor of sociology and crime, law and justice at Penn State.

Steffensmeier and Dr. Chester L. Britt of Arizona State University recently published their findings in the paper, "Judges' Race and Judicial Decision Making: Do Black Judges Sentences Differently?" in Social Science Quarterly. The researchers compared the sentences of 10 Black male judges (4,374 sentences) with those of 80 White male judges (34,668 sentences) in several Pennsylvania counties. Their analysis used 1991-94 data to determine if a judge's race impacts the sentencing of criminal defendants.

Steffensmeier and Britt found that Black judges were 1.66 times more likely to incarcerate offenders than White judges. Black judges imposed terms of imprisonment that were on average about a month shorter than those ordered by White judges, a difference that is not statistically significant.

Because of their own experiences with racism, Black judges might be expected to take a comparatively liberal and lenient view toward minorities and other disadvantaged people. However, this is not the case, says the Penn State researcher.

Black judges, still greatly outnumbered by their White peers, may be stricter in their sentencing decisions because they perceive themselves as "tokens" rather than as advocates for the underdog. "Because their `differentness' is highly visible, Black judges as tokens may feel that they are always under scrutiny. Thus, they may be leery of possible criticisms of `going easy' on criminal offenders," Steffensmeier adds.

Furthermore, Black judges may be especially sensitive to the cost of serious and drug-related crime to Black neighborhoods, where Black crime generally affects other Blacks. Therefore, they use their position to defend Black victims, not Black defendants.

"The strong similarity of their sentencing practices suggests that Black and White judges are governed more by their legal training and legal socialization than by their social background and personal experiences. The job, not so much the individual, makes the judge," Steffensmeier concludes.

**pab**

Contacts:

Paul Blaum (814) 865-9481  pab15@psu.edu

Vicki Fong (814) 865-9481  vfong@psu.edu

EDITORS:  Dr. Steffensmeier can be contacted by e-mail at d4s@psu.edu