The U.S. Judicial System, Annotated Bibliography Example

The U.S. Judicial System 

The U.S. justice system is often criticized for demonstrating racial and social class bias in dealing with individuals.  The impact of this apparent bias is farther-reaching than racially imbalanced prisons.  This paper will focus on the problem of bias in the justice system and its widespread impact on social attitudes, community life, and recidivism.  The following annotated bibliography represents the type, quality and typical content of the literature review to be used in the final paper.

Each annotation describes the thesis of the author and a brief description of how the thesis was supported.  This information is followed by a statement regarding the value of the article in supporting the argument that will be made in the final paper.

Byrne, J., Pattavina, A., & Taxman, F. (2005). Racial Disparity and the legitimacy of the criminal justice system: Exploring consequences for deterrence. Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved, 16(4), 57-77. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/pqdlink?Ver=1&Exp=05-21-2015&FMT=7&DID=953605741&RQT=309

In this article, the authors present an argument that the justice system is unsuccessful in providing a deterrent against crime.  Notwithstanding the over-representation of minorities in the prison system, the justice system tends to be “confounded by procedural and extralegal variables” that result in “churning.”  This term is used to describe the “revolving door” phenomenon experienced by many offenders – especially those of color.  The authors contend that churning minorities through the system reduced the deterrent effect of the criminal justice system which in turn, actually encourages crime.  This article supports the argument that racial bias in the justice system is actually counter-productive to the mission of the system itself.

Gustafston, K. (2009). The criminalization of poverty. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 99(3), 643-717. doi:0091-4169/09/9903-0643

In this article, the author presents an argument that the welfare system and the criminal justice system have become “tightly interwoven.”  Gusfafton asserts that the impetus for this enmeshment was welfare fraud.  The problem of welfare fraud and the need to find and prosecute its perpetrators has created a general mistrust of entitlement recipients by the courts.

The author contends that this problem has become so great that welfare recipients are frequently treated as being “inferior” citizens much like parolees or probationers.  The article contains many case studies and is heavily footnoted with reference citations.  This article provides strong evidentiary arguments that the US justice system is biased against the poor.

Hernandez, D. (2007). Living in paradox: Low income families, home and neighborhood challenges and (non)participation in the legal system. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Americal Sociological Association. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=8&hid=108&sid=a1f6694d-93be-47d0-bde1-ae04ab4d9695%40sessionmgr112

This paper begins with a case study regarding a poor family living in sub-standard housing.  The family did not seek legal recourse against the property owners due to their mistrust of the courts in dealing with the economically disadvantaged.  Instead, they continued to live in the home while it continued to deteriorate.  This case study set the stage for the rest of the paper in which the perception of poor people often leads them to handle problems on their own rather to leverage the legal system.  Hernandez uses other case studies in the paper and uses arguments that are supported by over 50 reference citations.  This paper illustrates that the US justice system not only discriminates against the poor in criminal matters, but in civil ones as well.

Holley, L., & Van Vleet, R. (2006). Racism and classism in the youth justice system: Perspectives of youth and staff. Journal of Poverty, 10(1), 45-67. doi:10.1300/J134v10n01-03

In this article, the authors present the findings of a qualitative action research study regarding the perceptions of racial and class bias by youthful offenders and staff members at juvenile correctional facilities.  The authors defend the qualitative nature of the study by citing that numerous quantitative studies have already been done regarding racial inequities in the justice system.  The real intent was to see if this apparent bias affected the post-conviction attitudes and behavior of inmates and staff.  The study concluded that staff did tend to have racial and class bias and that this bias was clearly evident in their language and behavior.  The authors even alluded to demonstrations of racism and classism by staff not only on the job, but in focus groups as well.  This article provides support for the argument that bias with the justice system is not just limited to the courtroom, but tends to be systemic.

Lott, J. (1987). Schould the wealthy be able to “buy justice?”. Journal of Political Economy, 95(6), 1307-1317. doi:10.1086/261517

This article begins with the assertion that that the US justice system favors the wealthy.  The author presents a model for explaining disparities in conviction between the rich and the poor and the impact it has on deterrence.  Lott uses a statistical model to demonstrate the relationship of “opportunity cost” (the risk factor in criminal activity) to the probability of conviction rather than the harshness of punishment.  He contends that the length of sentencing is less important than probability of conviction.  Because wealthy people can afford better legal representation, they are less likely to be convicted crimes and subsequently, more likely to commit them.  This article provides substantive support for the argument that the justice system not only favors the wealthy, but fails to deter crime among that population.