Some racial or ethnic groups are far more heavily represented in prison populations than in the general population and tend to receive disproportionately more severe sentences. Why does this happen? This panel will examine who goes to prison and for how long, and its analysis will begin before charges are brought and continue through sentencing. It will consider what influences those myriad decisions. How and to what extent do the actions, decisions, or biases on the part of legislators, law enforcement officials, prosecutors, judges, and others cause or affect the disparities? What policies do the disparities reflect? How does one deal with discretionary decisions that reflect explicit and implicit racial biases?
Moderator: Hon. Nancy Gertner, Harvard Law School
Panelists:
Hon. Ruben Castillo, District Judge, ILND
Prof. Sonja Starr, University of Michigan Law School
Prof. Bryan A. Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative and New York University School of Law
2012 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference
Recorded: August 15, 2012
