Title
Judicial Council Report to the Legislature: Disposition of Criminal Cases According to the Race and Ethnicity of the Defendant (Action Required)
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Summary
Court Operations Services and its Office of Court Research recommend that the Judicial Council approve the report Disposition of Criminal Cases According to the Race and Ethnicity of the Defendant and direct staff to transmit it to the Legislature. Doing so fulfills the requirements of Penal Code section 1170.45, which requires the Judicial Council to report annually on the disposition of criminal cases statewide according to the defendants’ race and ethnicity. Since 2001 the Judicial Council’s Office of Court Research has produced this report by analyzing the disposition of felony cases using data provided by the California State Department of Justice. The 2015 report indicates that when controlling for prior record and type of offense, no group of defendants systematically receives the most severe sentence in a way that was principally related to their race/ethnicity. However, within offense categories (e.g., drug offenses or property offenses) there are small to moderate, but statistically significant differences in the sentencing outcomes among racial/ethnic groups.
Recommendation
Court Operations Services and its Office of Court Research recommend that the Judicial Council approve the report Disposition of Criminal Cases According to the Race and Ethnicity of the Defendant and direct staff to transmit it to the Legislature.