Coker, D. (2003). FOREWORD: ADDRESSING THE REAL WORLD OF RACIAL INJUSTICE IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. Journal Of Criminal Law & Criminology, 93(4), 827-879.
In this publication, Coker addresses the reality of the criminal justice system. In the first section, he discusses the overwhelming empirical evidence of the criminal justice system’s unjust and unequal treatment of African Americans and Latinos. In section two, he criticizes the Court’s response to Armstrong and Bass claims of racially biased prosecution, demonstrating that the “similarly situated” standard is an indeterminate standard: by focusing on one potential area of similarity and ignoring others, courts hostile to these claims easily find that the defendant has failed to meet his burden. Finally, in the third section, he …show more content…
Furthermore, it is largely impossible to disaggregate racial differences in arrests and prosecution that are the result of enforcement patterns from those that are the result of actual differences in offending. In the final analysis, the decision to define some drug sellers as gang members, some organizations as “gangs,” and to ascribe the violent behavior of some gang members to that of others is wholly within the discretion of the prosecutor and not subject to proof requirements. In the final section, he examines the potential for change in the racist operation of the criminal justice system. Changing white misperceptions of crime and criminal offending have the potential to result in legislative and policy changes. He identifies four obstacles to changing white perceptions: (1) deeply embedded racist stereotypes of black criminality; (2) the tendency of whites to understand race discrimination only in terms of intentional acts of a bad actor; (3) the invisibility of white privilege to whites. In conclusion, he examines
In this publication, Coker addresses the reality of the criminal justice system. In the first section, he discusses the overwhelming empirical evidence of the criminal justice system’s unjust and unequal treatment of African Americans and Latinos. In section two, he criticizes the Court’s response to Armstrong and Bass claims of racially biased prosecution, demonstrating that the “similarly situated” standard is an indeterminate standard: by focusing on one potential area of similarity and ignoring others, courts hostile to these claims easily find that the defendant has failed to meet his burden. Finally, in the third section, he …show more content…
Furthermore, it is largely impossible to disaggregate racial differences in arrests and prosecution that are the result of enforcement patterns from those that are the result of actual differences in offending. In the final analysis, the decision to define some drug sellers as gang members, some organizations as “gangs,” and to ascribe the violent behavior of some gang members to that of others is wholly within the discretion of the prosecutor and not subject to proof requirements. In the final section, he examines the potential for change in the racist operation of the criminal justice system. Changing white misperceptions of crime and criminal offending have the potential to result in legislative and policy changes. He identifies four obstacles to changing white perceptions: (1) deeply embedded racist stereotypes of black criminality; (2) the tendency of whites to understand race discrimination only in terms of intentional acts of a bad actor; (3) the invisibility of white privilege to whites. In conclusion, he examines