MORE THAN JUST MONEY: HOW THE BAIL PROCESS CREATES UNINTENDED RACIAL DISPARITY
Open Access
- Author:
- Hanrath, Lily Savannah
- Graduate Program:
- Criminology
- Degree:
- Master of Arts
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- November 10, 2017
- Committee Members:
- Jeffrey Todd Ulmer, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Eric P Baumer, Committee Member
Darrell J Steffensmeier, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Bail
Focal Concerns
Race
Pennsylvania
Judges
Disparity - Abstract:
- Racial disparity in court processes is an important and heavily researched area of criminology. However, comparatively little attention has been given to race differences that may occur in the pre-trial process. Looking at racial disparity in bail actions is important as all subsequent processes may be influenced by these decisions. Previous studies on bail have found racial differences in detainment but a less strong relationship between bail amount and race. This may be because of a lack of specificity, in that most studies do not differentiate between multiple, potentially distinctive bail outcomes. This study adds to the literature by considering monetary and unsecure bail types separately in models looking at racial disparity between black, white, and Hispanic defendants in bail type and amount. Employing a focal concerns framework, it is hypothesized that racial disparity may emerge in bail decisions because race is used as a perceptual shorthand for blameworthiness and dangerousness. Using a unique dataset collected from four Pennsylvania counties, this study attempts to understand the interaction between race, legal factors, and extra-legal factors in predicting the likelihood of different bail outcomes. Findings suggest that racial disparity between white defendants and black and Hispanic defendants is present in bail type decisions but not in bail amount. This relationship is further complicated by the availability of legal information such as prior record.