IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jcjust/v96y2025ics0047235225000017.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How much does criminal history contribute to racial differences in arraignment outcomes?

Author

Listed:
  • Grodensky, Catherine A.
  • Silver, Ian A.
  • DeMichele, Matthew

Abstract

Differences based on race are prevalent across multiple processes and outcomes in the US criminal legal system, and one potential driver is the greater likelihood of Black individuals to possess a criminal history. Decisions made at arraignment about whether to detain an individual pretrial and require bail are typically influenced by judges' perceptions of their culpability and danger to society, which are influenced by criminal history. The current study employs a Structural Equation Model (SEM) to assess the extent to which criminal history mediates the association between race and arraignment outcomes in a sample of >15,000 cases in a large Southeastern county. Findings show that the sample of cases is disproportionately Black when compared with the surrounding population (85 % vs. 45 %, respectively), and that Black individuals are significantly more likely to be detained pretrial than White individuals (24 % vs. 21 %, respectively). SEM results indicate that criminal history accounts for all racial differences in pretrial detention and predicts pretrial detention more strongly among White than Black individuals. Neither criminal history nor race was significantly associated with assignment of bail. Strategies to reduce racial differences in pretrial detention may need to target how past criminal history informs pretrial release decisions at arraignment.

Suggested Citation

  • Grodensky, Catherine A. & Silver, Ian A. & DeMichele, Matthew, 2025. "How much does criminal history contribute to racial differences in arraignment outcomes?," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:96:y:2025:i:c:s0047235225000017
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102352
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235225000017
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102352?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:96:y:2025:i:c:s0047235225000017. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcrimjus .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.