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The Impact of Judicial Elections in the Sentencing of Black Crime

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  • Kyung H. Park

Abstract

This paper explores the possibility that criminal court judges engage in discriminatory sentencing in response to judicial elections. I use a research design that (1) distinguishes between the effects of judicial elections versus preferences and (2) separates the effects of judicial elections versus the elections of other public officials. I find that incarceration rates rise by 2.4 percentage points in the final six months of the election cycle, but only for black, not white felons. These effects are more pronounced in districts where the median voter is expected to have higher levels of racial prejudice toward blacks.

Suggested Citation

  • Kyung H. Park, 2017. "The Impact of Judicial Elections in the Sentencing of Black Crime," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(4), pages 998-1031.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:52:y:2017:i:4:p:998-1031
    Note: DOI: 10.3368/jhr.52.4.0415-7057R1
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    File URL: http://jhr.uwpress.org/cgi/reprint/52/4/998
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    Cited by:

    1. Nayoung Rim & Roman Rivera & Andrea Kiss & Bocar Ba, 2020. "The Black-White Recognition Gap in Award Nominations," Working Papers 2020-065, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    2. Dippel, Christian & Poyker, Michael, 2021. "Rules versus norms: How formal and informal institutions shape judicial sentencing cycles," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 645-659.
    3. Christian Dippel & Michael Poyker, 2019. "How Common are Electoral Cycles in Criminal Sentencing?," NBER Working Papers 25716, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Amartya Bose, 2020. "Racial disparities in law enforcement: The role of in-group bias and electoral pressures," Discussion Papers 2020-11, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.

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