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THE LAW IS WRITTEN IN BLACK AND WHITE

The Law is Written in Black and White:

Racial Discrimination Against Minorities in the American Court System

Lydia G. Ripley

Legal Studies Academy at First Colonial High School

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Abstract

Does discrimination against minority groups exist in our daily lives and in the American court

system? It is this question that this paper will attempt to illuminate. It will examine the motives

why discrimination against minority groups in the American court system exists. The research

has shown that racial discrimination is still a common thread throughout the American judicial

system. The Court's decisions are predicted from three things: race, gender, and the amount of

money that the convicted earn. This paper outlines the social injustice that is happening towards

minorities in the judicial system. This paper reviews the history of racial discrimination starting

with when it first came to Colonial America. Then it goes on to the topic of how minorities race

and socioeconomic status affects their sentencing outcomes. Then it will discuss the sentencing

differences, which unsurprisingly show that minorities suffer more than Caucasians. Lastly, it

will review court cases that have attempted to find justice in this heated subject.
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The Law is Written in Black and White: Racial Discrimination Against Minorities in the

American Court System

The African-American population makes up about 14% in the United States in 2016

(U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, 2016). In just 2016 alone, 27% of the black population was

arrested, double the amount of the total African-American population (National Center for

Health Statistics, 2018). With such high statistics, it is hard to see the truth behind it all, which is

that racial prejudice is a common thread throughout the US criminal justice system. The United

States judicial system prevails over the rights of the minorities and the poor. One in three

African-Americans is likely to go to prison versus the one in seventeen Caucasians (Knafo,

2013). Most of these minorities live in poor neighborhoods and don’t usually get fair

representation due to not having the funds to pay an excellent lawyer. Despite that the majority

of citizens in America frown on this injustice, racial discrimination is a common practice,

especially on the sentencing outcomes in the American Judicial system.

The History of Racial Discrimination in America

Since the beginning of slavery African-Americans have suffered due to the erasing of

their identity. Race has been a major factor in American society since race played a powerful

role in the political system throughout the colonial American government. African-American’s

history of racial segregation created a clear view of how most racial minorities have been treated

throughout history. Through this inhumane practice of the dehumanization of humans, it led to a

gateway towards what racial discrimination is seen as today.

The Beginnings of Slavery

The beginnings of racial discrimination started with the inhumane practices of slavery,

documented as far back as 11,000 years ago. Slavery came to the Americas in 1619 shortly after
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the first European explorers settled (The History of Slavery, 2018). Roughly 60 years later is

when the settlers started to seek after the trade of slavery so they could have free labor to work

on their farms. Slavery became so popular that many farmers became slave owners. Throughout

the world, the use of indentured servants declined, with a rise in the use of slaves, with the

advantage of having free labor, and owners could treat them however they pleased (The History

of Slavery, 2018). This widespread experience of Africans as slaves was the start of how

Americans became prejudice against minorities, especially African-Americans.

Creation of Laws that Furthered Racial Discrimination

African-Americans have fought for equal rights since 1865 due to the Emancipation

Proclamation, which was a document that freed African-Americans from slavery in the southern

states. Unfortunately, the Emancipation Proclamation did not get rid of discrimination against

African-Americans. After the Civil War, economic depravity, segregation and the discrimination

against Blacks were still prevalent in the South. After the war, even the victorious North started

to lose interest in the equal rights of African-Americans, and therefore, the South had the

opportunity to step in with the creation of Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws, and the Grandfather

Clause. With the creation of the Ku Klux Klan, and the voting tests were also, examples of racial

animosity towards African-Americans (Costly, 2018). Consequently, African-Americans had

more and more trouble to have rights such as voting, which privileged White authority figures

made such rights difficult for them.

Civil-Rights Protests

The 1930s were a frenzy of tense race relations in America. Decades after the

Emancipation Proclamation Africans-Americans were treated as second-class citizens. Although

the problems of the Great Depression affected almost every group of Americans, no group was
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harder hit than African-Americans. For example, by 1932, about half of black Americans were

out of work (Race During the Great Depression, 2018). In some Northern cities, whites called for

blacks to be fired from any jobs as long as there were whites out of work. Racial violence again

became more common, especially in the South. “Lynchings, which had declined to eight in 1932,

surged to 28 in 1933” (Race During the Great Depression, 2018, n.p.). This highlighted an

economic situation which started major political developments among the African-American

community. For example, in 1929, one store had a majority of black customers but would only

hire white employees. Due to this, the St. Louis Urban League launched a national movement

boycotting these stores. “Efforts to unify African-American organizations and youth groups later

led to the founding of the National Negro Congress in 1936 and the Southern Negro Youth

Congress in 1937” (Lynch, 2018, n.p.). There were many boycotts in the 1930s such as the

Montgomery Bus Boycott, as a civil-rights protest where African-Americans refused to ride the

city buses with hopes of desegregating discriminatory bus seating. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I

Have a Dream” speech he stated that he had a dream for a better America where everyone would

be treated fair and that there would be no more racial discrimination. That is the kind of ideal

that everyone should have in mind when it comes to equal rights. This history of racial

discrimination in the United States is one of the major reasons that discrimination exists in the

judicial system.

How Socioeconomic Status Affects Sentencing Outcomes

Though the United States has become more racially diverse, it is unequal in terms of

citizen’s income and wealth (Shin, 2016). There is still discrimination happening against towards

minorities that is mostly due to their wealth and income. According to a recent study called The

Racial Wealth Gap: Why Policy Matters, “the typical black household now just has 6% of the
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wealth of the typical white household; the typical Latino household just has 8%” (Dietrich,

Meschede, Shapiro, & Sullivan, 2015, n.p.).” This means that white households in America are

making about $104,033 more than black households and $102,798 more than Latino households

(Munk, Eggleston, 2018). This shows that racial animosity plays a role in the disadvantage of

economics for most families of color. Every family in America needs some sort of income in

order to live with economic security. Economic security is a cornerstone of social peace and

opportunity for progress. With the racial economic gap, it means that the families of color are

not able to give their children the security to invest in opportunities for their future.

Households, Education and Labor Markets

There are three main factors that drive the income gap between minority households in

America: Households, education, and labor markets. Homeownership for most American

families is their one of their largest assets. Though there are discrimination inconsistencies

towards minorities regarding homeownership. White households are more common than Latino

and Black households by about 30%. (Shin, 2016). Much of this disparity comes from the gap

regarding home values in usually white neighborhoods versus minority neighborhoods. This

dates all the way back to the National Housing Act which was passed in 1934, which “redlined”

black neighborhoods, marking them as credit risks (Shin, 2016). The effects of redlining still

exist today even though it was outlawed in the ‘60s. This is shown mostly in neighborhoods that

are usually a minority-majority especially those with high poverty rates, declining infrastructure,

and low home values (Shin, 2016). This creates a self-perpetuating feedback loop that keeps low-

income minority community members in poverty since their homes do not gain value. In

addition, discriminatory lending exists today as well through mortgages have higher interest rates

if they are acquired by households of color. (Shin, 2016).

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Education. Education is an important factor in predicting socioeconomic status. In the

world today, most people need a technical or college degree in order to be stable economically.

There has been a large decrease in minorities attending college (Shin, 2016). Many minorities

don’t usually have the money to afford to go to college; instead, they go straight into the

workforce. The debts of low-income minorities usually outweigh the ones of Caucasians since

many they don’t initially have the money to pay for college in the first place (Shin, 2016).

Homeownership disparities are another important factor towards the discrimination of minorities.

Residential segregation gives a disadvantage for minorities as students are placed in low-income

schools who don’t have the necessary tools for a proper education, which ultimately affects the

students and if they are ready for college.

Labor Markets. The last main reason for discrimination against minorities affecting

their socioeconomic status is the labor markets in America. The labor markets equate economic

security for people through income, health insurance, paid leave, and retirement funds for

people's plans for the present and the future. “But inequality in the labor market is responsible

for 20% of the growth in the racial wealth gap in the last 25 years and unemployment another

9%” (Shin, 2016, n.p.). The outcomes in the labor market can sometimes lead to disparities

against different races and create the geographical barriers that limit most minorities from

obtaining their dream job.

Race and Financial Security

“The typical white family earns $50,400, while the typical black family earns $32,038

and the typical Latino family, $36,840” (Shin, 2016, n.p.). Black and Latino families receive a

lower return rate on the money that they have earned, so this makes it harder for these families to

turn this income into wealth they can live off of. Due to this, it is less likely for Latinos and
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African-Americans to achieve jobs that offer substantial support in areas of income and obtain

various insurances. The result is that most families of color spend almost all their income their

earned income on necessary living items. Other factors go back to the factors of lower education

and the area of living. Parents who have raised their children in low-income neighborhoods and

schools have a lower chance of going to college, therefore, getting a better job opportunity. All

of these factors combine to create a disparity in economic conditions for African-Americans and

Latinos in America today compared to their White peers. These economic factors are a major

reason there are injustices in sentencing in the judicial system.

The Wrongful Incarcerations of Minorities

African-Americans usually live a harder life than most other Americans, and this is also

true in the judicial system. They receive heavier sentencing, longer probations, are arrested and

prosecuted more, and have fewer paroles than those of Caucasians (Rabuy & Wagner, 2017).

This idea is not understood enough by the public mainly due to society believing the stereotypes

of criminal behaviors of the minority community. The higher arrest and prison rates for

minorities are a de facto supporting reason for discrimination in the system, perpetuating racial

discrimination. Most of society is not even willing to acknowledge this bias in the criminal

justice system that makes the majority of the attorney’s to not want to take up their cases (O,

Felix, personal communication, 2018). When minorities finish their sentencing in prison, they

will be viewed differently by society. For example, it will be harder for minority former inmates

to be able to get respectable jobs, along with people in their community will never be able to

trust them again. (O, Felix, personal communication, 2018). Former inmates with social

awareness are already aware that they are receiving this negative stereotype which puts them in a

box that they feel like they cannot escape from. (O, Felix, personal communication, 2018).
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Incarceration Rates

America has the highest incarceration rate in the world. There are about 2.2 million

people that are incarcerated in local, state, federal, and youth prisons (Rabuy & Wagner, 2017).

In 2017, The black population only consisted of 13% of the total amount of the American

population (Rabuy & Wagner, 2017). Of the amount in prisons, 876,400 are African Americans,

which consists of 40% out of the total amount of prison inmates (Rabuy & Wagner, 2017). This

is almost three times the amount that is incarcerated than the number of people in the African

American population. The Latino population, in 2017, only consisted of 13% of the American

population (Rabuy & Wagner, 2017). Of the amount in prisons, 416,290 are Latinos, which

consists of 19% out of the total amount of prison inmates (Rabuy & Wagner, 2017). Thus,

making this 6% more than the total amount of people in the Latino population in America

(Rabuy & Wagner, 2017). How did this happen?

Probations

What is saddening is that in the year 1992, the number of black men in prison exceeded

the amount in college. In this day and age, a quarter of African-American males are either on

probation, locked up, or on parole. Poverty as a causal factor comes into play as well regarding

cases of minorities. Small crimes such as robbery are usually committed by people with lower

incomes. Forty-five percent of African-American children in the year 1992 were below the

poverty line, which compared to the 16 percent of white children was startling. Since many

African-Americans on trial do not have enough money to obtain a good lawyer, their cases

usually aren’t defended as vigorously, and they could get more years than what is deserved.

African-Americans make up 13 percent of the U.S. population but then make up 30 percent of

those on parole (Probation and Parole Systems, 2018). The incarceration rates show a wide racial
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gap between the races. “Black adults are about 3.5 times as likely as whites to be supervised”

(Probation and Parole Systems, 2018, n.p.). Along with the disproportionate representation of

Hispanics under the supervision of the law are undercounted, so this makes this data false.

(Probation and Parole Systems, 2018).

Arrest Rates

The first issue in racial differences in the judicial system is in arrests. A large amount of

black arrests in the American justice system puts a heavy burden on the black community.

African-Americans have higher arrest rates than any other races. Under Article 2 and Article 26

of the International Covenant on the Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), all of the citizens of the

United States are treated fairly and equally in the eyes of the law (The Sentencing Project,

2013). There is a paradox in the judicial system with some forces pushing fair treatment like the

ICCPR, and other systems that ignore severe racial disparities. One obvious difference that

demonstrates discrimination against minorities is in arrest rates. According to these rates,

African-American males tend to commit more violent and property crimes (The Sentencing

Project, 2013). Police officers across the whole country have a higher rate of arresting minorities

than Caucasians. Especially African-Americans who have a much higher arrest rate in almost

every city for almost every crime that there is.

Racial Discrimination from Police Officers

Research that was conducted by The Sentencing Project found that the majority of

Americans view black Americans as “dangerous,” “aggressive,” “violent,” and “criminal.” (The

Sentencing Project, 2013). This view can create an implicit bias where people expect black

Americans to be dangerous or criminal and perceive them as such. This plays a major impact on

police officers as they are required to make snap judgements in their heat of the moment
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situations. Police officers are part of the American culture which as conveyed this negative

implicit bias (The Sentencing Project, 2013). This bias may ultimately influence the way the

officers perform their jobs which will ultimately lead to police brutality and aggression towards

minorities. A study conducted by the state of New Jersey saw results that were alarming. Racial

minorities made up 15% of drivers that drove on the New Jersey Turnpike. Forty-two percent of

the stops and 73% of the arrested were black drivers. Even though white drivers have violated

the same amount of traffic laws at the same rate (The Sentencing Project, 2013). Through the

police targeting minority drivers, it became a widespread phenomenon amongst black

communities that they have started calling it “driving while black” (The Sentencing Project,

2013). While some explicit prejudice likely exists among some handful of New Jersey Turnpike

officers, the implicit bias research offers an explanation as to why even well-meaning officers

might have disparities in their arrest rates leading to a large disparity in arrests.

Court Cases

There are many court cases that have been debated on the heated subject of racial

discrimination. Racial discrimination cases are ones that are constantly being tackled by the

courts. Discrimination threatens the integrity of sentencing outcomes. This can mean that

minorities get longer sentencing than what is justified. In the world there is two kinds of racial

bias. A significant piece of the racial disparity against minorities is that of implicit racial bias.

Implicit racial bias is a controversy in comparison to clear racism. Clear racism is often

intentional and is practiced by people who openly embrace racial discrimination (Implicit

Racism, 2018). When the courts of America have judges in place that practice any type of

racism, that is when the integrity of the American Court system is gone.

Brown v. Board of Education

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One of the first cases on this subject would be Brown v. Board of Education in the year

1954. In this landmark case, the Court prohibited racial segregation of public school. The case of

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka is known as the “separate but equal” case. Every day,

Linda Brown and her sister had to walk a dangerous way to get to a bus stop to even get to their

all-black elementary school. There was a school that was closer to the girl's house, but it was

designated as an all-white school. They took their case to court believing that the segregation of

the schools was against the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. They stated

that if even the facilities are equal, segregated schools could never be equal to each other. The

plaintiffs were denied in the lower courts due to the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, which held that

“racially segregated public facilities were legal so long as the facilities for blacks and whites

were equal.” The court ruling stated that the segregation of public schools based on race was

unconstitutional. Through this case, it proved that in fact, the “separate but equal” mantra was

not, in fact, correct and violated these students’ rights.

McCleskey v. Kemp

In the case of McCleskey v. Kemp (1987), the Supreme court ruled that the statistics

presented that the death penalty had clear evidence of racial discrimination was not a

constitutional violation. The Justices of the Court had created an equal protection case-law so

that it was difficult for minority plaintiffs to challenge a neutral state action. This means the

plaintiffs would need to first show proof that they were discriminated against. The court had

made this difficult to prove. After decades of this happening, the Court now has an equal

protection record which controlled by plaintiffs challenges the race-conscious civil rights

problem. In this case, used the “Baldus study,” which was a social science experiment which

showed that the race of the defendant and the victim played an important role in determining
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who was selected for the death penalty in the state of Georgia (Siegel, R. B., 2018). The Court

dismissed this evidence as it was not enough to prove the discriminatory purpose in the

McCleskey case.

The larger question of the McClaskey case is whether discrimination has explained the

inconsistency in the criminal justice system and whether putting a moratorium in sentencing the

death penalty is warranted. By looking back on this case, it allows us to explore the

considerations that led to the Court’s decision to reject the statistical evidence of discrimination

in the case. Some Courts say that the restrictions on the statistical evidence help to show

openings for statistical evidence of bias in the criminal justice system today. Also, examining the

McCleskey case helps raise the deeper question of whether or not the court should have the

ability to discuss bias in the criminal justice system. This helps remind us that we should not

fully rely on a system that depends solely on judges for the correct prosecution.

Los Angeles Police Riots

In the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, four policemen of Los Angeles were exonerated for the

beating of Rodney King, an African-American man. This was the spark of the destructive riots,

which only went downhill from there. When Reginald Denny was taken from his truck and

beaten by several black men, stricken television viewers watched with attentiveness and fear.

Many people believed that though what the men did to Denny were terrible, these men that were

accused would not receive a fair trial due to their race. None of the five young men who were

arrested could post bail, which some bails exceeded $500,000. Through this case, it reinforced

the opinion that African-Americans cannot get fair justice in our society (Bates, K. G., & Sastry,

A, 2018).

Stop and Frisk Cases

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The most known example of racial profiling is the “stop and frisk” tactic that is used by

police, especially those in the New York Police Department. According to the Fourth

Amendment, police officers must have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed

by the suspect. If the police officer views the suspect as a risk and is potentially dangerous, then

they may frisk the suspect by gently patting the outside of their clothing. The frisk is also called

a Terry Stop due to the Supreme Court case of Terry v. Ohio (1968). This case upheld that a

stop-and-frisk must adhere to the Fourth Amendment. If the frisk does not follow the Fourth

Amendment, then it is unlawful and can be tried in court as criminal law. (Busby, J. C., 2017).

Racial Profiling is also supported by the case of Floyd v. City of New York (2013) which was a

challenge towards the New York Police Department’s common practice of racial profiling and

unconstitutional stop and frisks of the minorities of New York City.

Biased Juries

The courts of America are mostly attempting to attack the problem of racism. They are

generally viewed as the ideal place of true justice. The courts have a system of checks and

balances that make sure their work is helping the people. Though when the courts are faced with

a serious racial problem that cannot easily be avoided, they tend to seek a solution that is not

always in the interests of minority victims. Moreover, the courts are choosing cases that endorse

constitutional ideals while still leaving the most complicated cases unaddressed (Costly, A.

1992). Minorities have consistently been excluded from having an equal and unbiased jury of

their peers, which every American has this right. Though having an ‘unbiased’ jury becomes

almost meaningless without limitations on the courts and the prosecutors. Though in the case of

Swain v. Alabama the Court upheld an unfair prosecutorial privilege by only considering the

procedural issues and ignoring the substantive effect (Batis, T. C., n.d.). Even a different result in
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Swain v. Alabama would not have given the black defendants the ideal jury of their peers. There

is no law or judicial reform in the published literature that has suggested any possibility of

addressing this problem.

Conclusion

Discrimination is still common among many nations and American society today. Many

people suffer because of their color, gender or ethnic background. The majority of black

defendants are put in a class which is bearing the brunt of living in poverty and dealing with

racism. They not only deal with the effects of economic deprivations and racial bias but with

some of society believing that blacks are less valuable humans. Minorities are an oppressed

group, especially African-Americans and Latinos. They are constantly trying to speak out and be

heard, this is an effort that comes with complications. When the American society bands together

to stop this racial bias, that is when everyone can be seen as equals in the eyes of the court and in

the rest of society. The future of criminal justice sentencing in America needs to take a step

towards the equality for all.

Racism has been a long-standing problem in the country. By educating those in charge of

the country such as judges and officials, it can make the problems of discrimination improve. By

allowing more resources of legal representation for the people who are on the lower end of the

economic status, it can better the representation for minorities. One additional solution would be

to have the courts of America and judges make their sentencing and decision process more

publicly known. This way they can have a check on their power, so they don’t convict people

wrongly especially with racial bias. By educating the people of America on this problem, we can

better benefit not only the country but the world. Only by wanting a better future will we finally

achieve the American dream.

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https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217.
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