A new study from
Carlos Berdejo of Loyola Law School demonstrates for the first time that there
are significant racial disparities in the plea deals that white and black
people receive on misdemeanor charges—with black people facing more severe
punishment.
Berdejo analyzed 30,807 misdemeanor
cases in Wisconsin over a seven-year period and found that white people facing
misdemeanor charges were more than 74 percent more likely than black people to
have all charges carrying potential prison time dropped, dismissed, or reduced.
And white people with no criminal history were more than 25 percent more likely
to have charges reduced than black people who also had no criminal history.
This
suggests, as Berdejo concludes in his report, that prosecutors use race to judge
whether a person is likely to recidivate when deciding what plea to offer.
Prior studies have found racial
disparities in the plea bargaining process. The Berdejo study differs, however,
in that it analyzes a detailed statewide data set of the entire life of
criminal cases, from charging to sentencing, making it more reliable and
expansive.
The
majority of arrests nationally are for misdemeanor charges. At The Bronx
Defenders, where we provide public defense services to low-income people in the
Bronx, we had over 18,000 new misdemeanor cases in 2016 alone. That was more
than three quarters of our cases, and about half of all cases that we closed
last year resulted in plea deals.
If there are racial disparities in
pleas in misdemeanor cases that lead to worse punishment of black people, it
means a significant proportion of our criminal justice system is meting out
punishment in a racially-biased manner.
Prosecutors wield enormous power and
total discretion in deciding whether and how to charge people, whether to
request pre-trial detention or money bail, and what plea to offer. One factor
guiding this decision is whether the attorney believes the person will be held
on bail. Frequently, people charged with misdemeanors accept pleas just to go
home.
s the person will be held on bail. Frequently, people
charged with misdemeanors accept pleas just to go home.
When Race Tips the Scales in Plea Bargaining, Jenn Rolnick Borchetta/Alice Fontier
