Cumulative Disadvantage in Sentencing Drug Offenders in U.S. District Courts

• In Event: Equality and Bias in the Sentencing Process

Abstract

Sentencing research has long been criticized for focusing exclusively on the final sentence outcome and ignoring important decision points that precede this outcome. Numerous scholars have called for research that investigates disparate treatment across the life course of a criminal case. This paper responds to this critique by examining cumulative disadvantage in the treatment of offenders facing drug trafficking charges in U.S. District Courts. We examine whether Black and Hispanic offenders are more likely than White offenders to be detained pretrial, to be convicted of an offense triggering a mandatory minimum sentence, to not receive a substantial assistance departure, and to receive a prison sentence of 10 years or more.

Author

• Cassia Spohn, Arizona State University