Prosecutor Narratives and Race Construction in Rap on Trial Cases

• In Event: Marked and Marginalized: Race, Gender, and the Narratives of Legal Exclusion

Abstract

The enactment of the California Racial Justice Act and the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act represent significant steps forward in the ability to challenge racial discrimination in the courtroom. These developments are especially critical for “rap on trial” (Kubrin and Nielson 2014) cases, where prosecutors use rap lyrics and music videos as evidence to secure convictions against young men of color. This is because experimental studies routinely find that rap evidence can have a prejudicial impact in criminal cases given stereotypes and biases associated with the genre and its artists (Dunbar and Kubrin 2018; Dunbar, Kubrin and Scurich 2016; Fischoff 1999; Fried 1996,1999). In this essay, we draw upon a combination of theories including critical race theory, heuristic information processing, and attribution theory, to explain how prosecutors—either consciously or unconsciously—construct race in problematic ways in rap on trial cases. For illustration, we provide examples of how racial stereotypes are mobilized in prosecutor narratives during closing arguments from cases in California. We conclude with recommendations to minimize racial bias in the courtroom and offer directions for future research in this area.

Authors

• Charis E. Kubrin, University of California, Irvine

• Kyle Winnen, University of California, Irvine

• Jack Lerner, University of California, Irvine