Coleman 1

Taylor Coleman

Professor Debra Jizi

UWRITE 1104

5 November 2017

Annotated Bibliography

Citation: Lynch, Michael J. Introduction. Race and Criminal Justice, Harrow and Heston,

1991, pp. 26.

Racial bias encountered within the policing department of the criminal justice system is

considered to be informal racial bias because they are not publicly endorsed. Racial bias that

occurs is not always purposeful, it is often done unknowingly because people often fail to

properly inform themselves of these racial and ethnic bias. This ignorance of racial and ethnic

bias can be a direct result of harmful policies being passed that may disadvantage some groups

of people over others. Race can be defined as a social construct but it has been used to group

people by physical characteristics and as a way to elucidate themselves from others. The

negative stereotypes that have been assigned to African Americans has made them vulnerable to

criminalization through societal outlets such as the media, law enforcement agencies and

personnel, as well as court personnel.

This source is relevant to my inquiry question because it addresses not only the presence of bias

within the criminal justice system, but it also addresses the history behind it while including

specific examples such as the Rodney King case and it explains the historical consequences that

these bias have had on groups of people. I learned that there is a specific term for the racial bias

that is secretly done within the system because it is not publicly accepted. I also learned that

racial bias within the criminal justice system has a connected and living history that affects the

people living in todays current society. This has definitely helped me move on with my research
 Coleman 2

because this was a source that helped set the foundation for a clear stance on the answer to my

inquiry question.

This source is credible because of its credible author. Michael J. Lynch possess both a masters

degree in sociology and a bachelors degree in criminal justice from St. Johns University, as

well as a masters and doctorate degree in criminal justice and a doctorate in philosophy from

State University of New York at Albany. He has taught as a professor at Florida State University

and is currently teaching at the University of South Florida. He is a prominent member of the

Environmental Prosecution and Investigation Association as well as the Florida Prosecuting

Attorneys Association. This source was peer reviewed by Reid M. Golden in Criminal Justice &

Policy Review, and by Pamela Irving Jackson in Contemporary Sociology. He is such an expert

at criminology that he introduced the term, green criminology while exploring environmental

law.