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Let My People Go: Ethnic In‐Group Bias in Judicial Decisions—Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment

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  • Oren Gazal‐Ayal
  • Raanan Sulitzeanu‐Kenan

Abstract

Does ethnic identity affect judicial decisions? We provide new evidence on ethnic biases in judicial behavior by examining the decisions of Arab and Jewish judges in first bail hearings of Arab and Jewish suspects in Israeli courts. Our setting avoids the potential bias from unobservable case characteristics by exploiting the random assignment of judges to cases during weekends and by focusing on the difference in ethnic disparity between Arab and Jewish judges. The study concentrates on the early‐stage decisions in the judicial criminal process, controlling for the state's position and excluding agreements, thereby allowing us to distinguish judicial bias from other sources of ethnic disparities. We find systematic evidence of in‐group (same ethnic group) bias in detention decisions. However, in cases where the decision is to detain, no ethnic bias was found in the length of the detention. Possible interpretations and implications of these findings are discussed.

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  • Oren Gazal‐Ayal & Raanan Sulitzeanu‐Kenan, 2010. "Let My People Go: Ethnic In‐Group Bias in Judicial Decisions—Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(3), pages 403-428, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:empleg:v:7:y:2010:i:3:p:403-428
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-1461.2010.01183.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Pallab K. Ghosh & Gary A. Hoover & Zexuan Liu, 2020. "Do State Minimum Wages Affect the Incarceration Rate?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(3), pages 845-872, January.
    3. Chen,Daniel Li & Graham,Jimmy & Ramos Maqueda,Manuel & Singh,Shashank - DIME3, 2022. "Do Judges Favor Their Own Ethnicity and Gender ? Evidence from Kenya," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9956, The World Bank.
    4. Christoph Engel, 2022. "Judicial Decision-Making. A Survey of the Experimental Evidence," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2022_06, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    5. Talia Fisher & Tamar Kricheli‐Katz & Issi Rosen‐Zvi & Theodore Eisenberg, 2016. "He Paid, She Paid: Exploiting Israeli Courts' Rulings on Litigation Costs to Explore Gender Biases," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(3), pages 536-561, September.
    6. Samantha Bielen & Peter Grajzl & Wim Marneffe, 2021. "Blame based on one's name? Extralegal disparities in criminal conviction and sentencing," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 469-521, June.

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