THE EFFECT OF RACE ON DECISIONS BY JUDGES AND OTHER OFFICERS OF THE COURT

This study examined the impact of the ethnic group of defendant and vi ctim on perceptions of a simulated trial. The subjects were judges, pr osecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, and probation officers. People of different racial groups are perceived and would be treated differe ntly by the respondents. Most respondents perceived the White defendan t as a more serious offender than a minority defendant. However, there was one very important exception-judges. Judges indicated that a mino rity defendant who victimized a White was more likely to commit future crimes. Minority respondents and different occupational groups respon ded in diverse ways. Chen's filtering model of case processing in the criminal justice system (1991) is used to explain these results.