ANALYTICAL RIGOR IN STUDIES OF DISPARITIES IN CRIMINAL CASE PROCESSING

Studies of racial/ethnic disparities in criminal case processing have yielded mixed results. Some differences in findings have probably resu lted from analyses of different social settings, but some could be att ributable to differences in analytical rigor between studies. Contextu al analyses are pointless unless the research yields unbiased estimate s of the true relationships between a defendant's race/ethnicity and c ase dispositions. This goal may be furthered by conducting analyses th at simultaneously incorporate the following. (a) corrections for sampl e bias, (b) analyses of several stages of case processing, (c) measure s of prior record and offense seriousness which maximize ''explained'' variation in the dependent variables examined, (d) statistical contro ls for extralegal variables that correlate with case dispositions, and (e) more rigorous statistical tests for interactions. To demonstrate potential differences in findings from analyses with and without these characteristics, results from a study of 1586 Mexican- and Anglo-Amer ican defendants from Dona Ana County, New Mexico, are presented.