Policing And Sentencing Summary

Impact of Race, class, and gender in Policing and Sentencing
Race, class, and gender have an effect on the outcomes of the American criminal justice system. However, whether that outcome is favorable or not depends on where each individual lies on the race, class, and gender hierarchy of the United States. Cassia Spohn writes in great detail about the effects of these three characteristics in her article “30 Years of Sentencing Reform.” Before Spohn lays out the findings of her research, she differentiates disparity and discrimination. Disparity, she says, refers to difference in treatment or outcome. When like cases, with respect to case attributes, regardless of their legitimacy, are sentenced differently is when a disparity occurs. …show more content…
Once again, whether the outcomes are favorable or not depends on where each individual lies on the race, class, and gender hierarchy of the United States. Jerome Skolnick in his article “Justice without trial” examines how police conduct their daily operations. Policing, Skolnick says, involves danger, authority, and efficiency. Skolnick asserts that the combination of danger and authority frustrate procedural regularity. If possible, Skolnick suggests authority and danger should never coexist for the sake of the rule of law. According to Skolnick, danger yields a self-defensive conduct, conduct that must strain impulse because danger arouses fear and anxiety so easily. Authority under such conditions becomes a resource to reduced perceived threats rather than a series of reflective judgements arrived at calmly. Coupled with societal and personal suspect assailants, this perceived danger leads to discriminatory policing against groups and individuals who the police view as suspect assailants. Race plays a role in determining who is a suspect assailant. The traditional suspect assailant is the young Black male. When police interact with you Black males their sense of danger increases and their ability to act rationally decreases. The goal is to get the upper hand. To do this police look for things that are out of place. If something is out of place then the alarms of danger start ringing and the police will be …show more content…
The writers we read view the purpose of law differently. One writer that may explain why race, class, and gender have in impact in the American criminal justice system is Hay. Hay conclude that the purpose of law is to maintain social order and hierarchy. The United States at is inception had a clear social order and hierarchy. Over time this social order and hierarchy has been disrupted by individuals seeking to get a fair shake in this country. After time the social order is disrupted there is a move to restore or salvage that social order and hierarchy. The biggest disruption to this country social order came at the end of the Civil War. With the end of the Civil War came the passage of the 13th Amendment and the abolishment of slavery. Following this disruption came Jim Crow. After Jim Crow came the war on drugs. All of these acts were intended to maintain the subordination and confinement of Black bodies. This is the social order that over time law in this country has sought to