DISPARITY AND DISCRIMINATION

Disparity and Discrimination

Disparity and Discrimination

Introduction

There are various forms of social inequalities that affect, most especially, certain social groups. Some of these inequalities are easily visible in the criminal justice system, not only in the manner in which the system treats the members of a community but also in the manner in which they conduct their internal affairs. The fact of the insult of the law is construed and recognized only in significant violations of the honor.

The two types of inequalities analyzed in this writing are discrimination and disparity in three of the major components of the criminal justice system.

Disparity

At first glance the terms disparity and discrimination seem to be perhaps similar. One could argue that disparity is a result of discrimination and that discrimination creates disparity; a clarification of the terms will give a better understanding of these analogous yet dissimilar words. Black's Law Dictionary (2001), describes disparity as, “inequality; a difference in quantity or quality between two or more things.”

Racial disparity exists in the criminal justice system when an ethnic or racial group that controls the system exists in a proportion higher than the population they control (Reducing Racial Disparity). The analogy with discrimination is evident as disparate treatment is only proven through a showing of discriminatory intent or motive (Black's, 2001).

Discrimination

Discrimination is described in the American Heritage Dictionary (Third Edition) as, “treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit; partiality or prejudice.” Discrimination in the criminal justice system is evident in cases of racial profiling where adverse actions are taken against minorities solely because of their race or ethnicity. Black's Law Dictionary makes reference to the term favoritism as a related but recognizable term; hence the analogy with disparity racial disparity arises.Discussion

Two elements exist within disparity and these are legal and extralegal. The legitimate portion determines the type of punishment that will be issued to the offender based on the offense committed, such as life without parole for the crime of murder. Legal factors are in accordance with the due process of law. Extralegal factors are irrelevant in a case and should never be implemented when determining a sentence. Extralegal factors can be discriminatory if based upon one's race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, religious-cultural beliefs, community relations, gender, sexual preference, appearance, and so forth. Federal laws were developed and passed for the purpose of creating standardized and uniform sentencing (Fletcher, 1998).

This in return, assists with alleviating sentencing disparities and discrimination based on legitimate and extralegal irrelevant factors. In addition, mandatory minimum sentencing ...