Racial Disparities in Pretrial Diversion

Abstract

Living with a felony conviction exposes people to a host of negative life experiences, including unemployment, low income, and family instability. Pretrial diversions offer defendants a rare chance to escape this fate. Using data from the State Court Processing Statistics, this study examines racial disparities in pretrial diversion among men charged with felony crimes in metropolitan counties in the even years from 1990 to 2006. The study finds that prosecutors are more likely to grant pretrial diversions to White defendants than they are to grant these diversions to Black or Latino defendants with similar legal characteristics. Moreover, while disparities disadvantaging Latinos are only present among defendants whose most serious arrest charge is for a drug crime and who have no prior convictions, those disparities disadvantaging Blacks occur both among defendants whose most serious arrest charge is for a drug crime regardless of prior convictions and among defendants charged with violent crimes who have no prior convictions.