Abstract

Sentencing scholars have recently analyzed cumulative disadvantage that minority defendants are confronted with in the criminal justice system. This research has particularly focused on black, Latino, and to a lesser extent, Asian defendants. Little attention, however, has been paid to how American Indian defendants are treated across multiple decision points and cumulative disadvantage they endure. To address this gap, we use the Federal Justice Statistics Program data and assess whether American Indians, in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups, were more likely to face disadvantage at different stages in criminal case-processing. Findings indicate that American Indians are, in fact, more likely to experience cumulative disadvantage at different stages in federal courts. Implications for theory, policy, and future research are discussed.

摘要

量刑学者最近分析了少数族裔被告在刑事司法系统中面临的累积劣势。这项研究特别关注黑人、拉丁裔和较小程度上的亚裔被告。然而，很少有人关注美洲印第安人被告如何在多个决策点和他们忍受的累积劣势中受到对待。为了解决这一差距，我们使用联邦司法统计计划数据并评估与其他种族和族裔群体相比，美洲印第安人是否更有可能在刑事案件处理的不同阶段面临劣势。调查结果表明，事实上，美国印第安人更有可能在联邦法院的不同阶段经历累积劣势。讨论了对理论、政策和未来研究的影响。