THE EFFECTS OF RACE ON PROCEDURAL JUSTICE - THE CASE OF THE UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY-JUSTICE

Building on a relatively recent tradition in studies of the civilian c riminal justice system, the present research examined the potential ra cial bias in time-related variables inherent in the administration of courts-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The sample consisted of a database of all adjudicated charges in the U.S. Army of aggravated assault, drug-related, and sex-related crimes betwe en 1986 and 1992. The results of the analyses of two main and three ex planatory hypotheses indicated that, with regard to non-sex-related of fenses, blacks spent longer going from initial charges to final dispos ition, were older than whites, and had been in the service longer. The relationship was reversed for sex-related crimes. The presence or abs ence of a negotiated plea bargain was found to have negligible effects on duration in the system. No consistent correlation was found betwee n intellectual ability and time spent in the system. These results wer e interpreted in terms of an interaction between the level of potentia l public interest in a crime and the race of the accused, with blacks receiving accelerated treatment in crimes involving sex and less atten tion in the case of other crimes.