final exam Flashcards
Voir Dire
The process of selecting a jury
- challenged for cause”
- peremptory challenges
Venire
Selection of the actual jurors who will decide the case
Challenges for Cause
Prospective jurors who are considered biased may
be “challenged for cause”
- a request to disqualify a potential juror for specific reasons
- challenge is unlimited
Peremptory Challenges
The dismissal of jurors without stating a valid reason for doing so
- used to eliminate jurors in a racially discriminatory manner
Batson Challenges
An objection to an opposing party’s use of a peremptory strike to exclude a juror from the jury pool based on race
Prison Penalty
The way in which having an incarceration history impacts the opportunity structure of formerly incarcerated people
- unemployment, poverty, homelessness, education, parenting
Punishment Penalty
Young black and brown men are often stereotyped as dangerous or criminal, which judges may consider in their sentencing decisions.
Cumulative Disadvantage
racial discrimination at multiple stages of the criminal justice system works to cumulatively disadvantage minorities
Mass Incarceration
a system of social control that is characterized by correctional control and surveillance.
- imprisonment, probation, parole, race-neutral laws, regulations, informal rules, and stigma that CREATE and reinforce it
Mandatory Minimums
Requires judges to impose a sentence of imprisonment for at least the time specified in a statute
- contributed greatly to the number of people of color behind bars
- prosecutors are twice as likely to pursue a mandatory minimum sentence for Black people as for white people
Patterns in Sentencing
Some is warranted and some is unwarranted
- African Americans and Hispanics have a greater likelihood of pretrial detention and incarceration
War on Drugs (1968)
Nothing has contributed more to the systematic mass incarceration of people of color in the United States than the War on Drugs
- has been fought primarily in minority communities
Stereotypes
Drug Offenders: decision makers construct stereotypes of dangerous drug offenders
- young black and brown men are often stereotyped as dangerous or criminal
- Native American: “drunken Indian / savage”
5 Explanations for Racial Disparities
Legally Relevant Factors
Economic Discrimination
Discretion
Race Neutral Laws
Overt discrimination / Unconscious Racial Bias
Legally Relevant Factors
African Americans and Hispanic Americans commit more serious crimes and have more serious prior records than White Americans and therefore are sentenced more harshly