Social Institution: Criminal Justice System

Sub-topic: Prison System

1) Which general social institution are you interested and why?
The institution I have chosen to focus on is the Prison System. The reason I have chosen this
institution is that I have always found it interesting the way socio-economic standing can affect
sentencing when it comes to repeat offenders.
2) Can you think of specific aspects of this institution that are interesting for you? What makes these
interesting for you? For example, if you choose 'Family' perhaps you are interested in single
family households. You can even narrow this down further and think about researching single
family households in LA.
The reason this institution is so interesting is that from sentencing to prison time, the duration of
time is determined by an individuals socio-economic standing and ethnicity. Jails are filled with
people whove committed infractions and are sentenced to jail time, however, if we look at the
number of financial of well off people and their ethnicities that have committed similar offenses,
multiple times, the amount of jail time they receive is non-proportional to those of a lesser
standing.
3) Find 3 resources about your institution, summarize in a sentence or two the main ideas of each
resource. Add a formal citation at the end of your assignment for each of your resources.
Who's Black, Who's Brown, And Who Cares?: A Legal Discussion Of Hernandez V. Texas*
This article focuses on disparity in juror race when prosecuting minorities. The article follows the
conviction in 1952 of Pete Hernandez, a Mexican American convicted by an all Anglo jury. The
case eventually reaches the Supreme Court, but what is important is that at the time Mexican
American were being excluded from the jury process and this case eventually opened the path for
protection of jury discrimination for Mexican Americans.
Citation: Bradshaw, Gilbert, Who's Black, Who's Brown, And Who Cares?: A Legal Discussion
Of Hernandez V. Texas. Bringham Young University Education & Law Journal 2 (2007): 351382. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Racial, Ethnic, And Gender Disparities In Sentencing: Evidence From The U.S. Federal Courts*
This article focuses on the variables that affect the length of sentences for federal offenders. The
study conducted concluded that Black males and those with lower educational levels or economic
standing tend to receive longer sentences.
Citation: Mustard, David B., Racial, Ethnic, And Gender Disparities In Sentencing: Evidence
From The U.S. Federal Courts. Journal of Law and Economics (2001): 285-314. The University
of Chicago Press. Web 14 Feb. 2015.
Racial Disparity In Federal Criminal Charging And Its Sentencing Consequences
This article focuses on the disparity on the length of prison sentences between black and white
individuals. There is also focus on how charges are presented, as well as the likeliness of
prosecutors to file charges for one race over the other.
Citation: Rehavi, M. Marit and Starr, Sonja B., Racial Disparity in Federal Criminal Charging and
Its Sentencing Consequences. (2012): U of Michigan Law & Econ, Empirical Legal Studies.
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1985377. Web 16 Feb. 2015.