Analyzing Cultural Diversity and Bias in Criminal Justice System

This essay examines the multifaceted aspects of cultural diversity within the criminal justice system, focusing on implicit biases, stereotypes, and their effects on courtroom proceedings and sentencing. It differentiates between explicit stereotyping and attitudes, highlighting how biases can influence judicial decisions and potentially lead to unfair outcomes. The importance of diversity among courtroom and correctional employees is emphasized for ensuring fair judgments and improving cooperation with inmates. The essay also addresses the issue of racial disparity in sentencing, noting the increased likelihood of harsher penalties for minority defendants, particularly in cases involving white victims. Ultimately, the essay underscores the need for greater awareness and mitigation of biases to promote a more equitable and just criminal justice system.

Running head: CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
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Implicit Biases and Stereotypes
The term implicit can be described as the conceptions people held over any social group
in an unconscious manner. As per various researches it can be seen that there are many instances
in which our mind tends to process certain decisions in absence of a conscious awareness, intent
or control (Richardson, 2016). Although there is a general taboo on racial prejudice among the
law enforcement officers and the judicial decision makers and there is a strenuous tendency
among them to be not making judgments based on any type of bias or stereotype, yet there are
repeated indications of ‘biased-policing’ which can be seen as the result of implicit bias which
operates outside the general consciousness and control of any person (Spencer, Charbonneau &
Glaser, 2016).
Stereotypes are often seen as being attributable from implicit biases. In multiple
substantial researches it has been observed that there is common stereotype to be associating any
tendency towards being aggressive and violence with the Black people. It has been noticed that
psychologists pay attention mostly to the influence of the negative stereotypes over the
perceptions of people towards the criminal groups, however, there has been very less attention
paid to the influence of such stereotypes towards the attitude and behavior of the individuals who
are being stereotyped (Najdowski, Bottoms & Goff, 2015).
Difference between Explicit Stereotyping and Attitudes
Explicit stereotype can be described as the beliefs and thoughts perceived towards any
group of person consciously and intentionally. These stereotypes can be seen as easy to self-

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report as they are the known to the person having the beliefs about someone (Arendt, Marquart
& Matthes, 2015).
An attitude is the response in a specific way towards certain situation or person. An
individual’s choice for any action is highly influenced by way of attitude (Samson & Bobo,
2014).
How biases affect Courtroom proceedings
Bias can be defined as prejudicial thought of any individual towards any other individual
or social group. Racial bias is seen as being present in the criminal justice system since a long
time. The courtroom proceedings can also be seen to be effected hugely by bias. In the pre-
judgmental disposition bias has both negative and positive impact. A biased judgment have a
higher tendency to be wrong, as an example a judge having a racial bias might be affected by the
bias and would not grant a Black person guilty of crime bail (Bennett, 2016).
Importance of diversity of Courtrooms and Corrections Employees
For a fair proceeding and judgment and for respecting the rule of law the diversity of a
courtroom can be seen as necessary. In a diverse courtroom environment there would be diverse
perspectives and experiences which would be helping the judges to make informed and impartial
decisions (Kastellec, 2013).
In a correctional facility having employees from diverse backgrounds can be seen as
helpful. In the USA correction system the population of the prisoners are seen as mostly to be of
minority however the staffs are not as diverse. Researches show that a corrections employee

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being from a cultural background to the prisoners help them get better cooperation from the
prisoners (Collins, 2013).
Effect of Racial Disparity in Sentencing
Racial disparity in criminal justice system can be described as to be present if the
proportion of any racial group is found to be far greater in the control of the system than in the
general population. As per the researches it can be seen that although there has been a significant
change in the racial dynamics, however it still has an undeniable presence in the process of
sentencing. In various studies it has generally found that in majority of the death-penalty cases
there is a higher chances of a harsher sentence for the defendant if the murder victim is white. In
the studies it has also been found that in many jurisdictions of the federal system there is a higher
chance of a defendant from the minority to be receiving harsher sentencing (Baumer, 2013).

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Reference
Arendt, F., Marquart, F., & Matthes, J. (2015). Effects of right-wing populist political advertising
on implicit and explicit stereotypes. Journal of Media Psychology.
Baumer, E. P. (2013). Reassessing and redirecting research on race and sentencing. Justice
Quarterly, 30(2), 231-261.
Bennett, M. W. (2016). The implicit racial bias in sentencing: The next frontier. Yale LJF, 126,
391.
Collins, P. A., Iannacchione, B., Hudson, M., Stohr, M. K., & Hemmens, C. (2013). A
comparison of jail inmate and staff correctional goal orientations: results from across the
line. Journal of Crime and Justice, 36(1), 100-115.
Kastellec, J. P. (2013). Racial diversity and judicial influence on appellate courts. American
Journal of Political Science, 57(1), 167-183.
Najdowski, C. J., Bottoms, B. L., & Goff, P. A. (2015). Stereotype threat and racial differences
in citizens’ experiences of police encounters. Law and Human Behavior, 39(5), 463.
Richardson, L. S. (2016). Systemic triage: Implicit racial bias in the criminal courtroom. Yale
LJ, 126, 862.
Samson, F. L., & Bobo, L. D. (2014). Ethno-racial attitudes and social inequality. In Handbook
of the social psychology of inequality (pp. 515-545). Springer, Dordrecht.

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Spencer, K. B., Charbonneau, A. K., & Glaser, J. (2016). Implicit bias and policing. Social and
Personality Psychology Compass, 10(1), 50-63.