Synthesis Paper: Addressing Implicit Bias in Criminal Courtrooms

Addressing Implicit Bias in Criminal Courtrooms
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Abstract
The Bible calls upon each of us to speak for those who do not have voices and defend the rights of the downtrodden. Federal judges can rise to the call by establishing courtroom procedures that minimize the likelihood of implicit bias influencing the decisions that attorneys make in criminal court proceedings. Implicit bias has been identified as one of the key factors that lead to the disproportionate incarceration of minority and marginalized groups in the United States' justice system. The issue remains one of the key challenges in the justice system. Four ways through which judges could minimize or reduce implicit bias include attorney training, offering more time for the attorney to prepare for a case, auditing case outcomes, and adding more questions in the plea colloquy.
Addressing Implicit Bias in Criminal Courtrooms
The Federal Courts as provided by Article III of the US Constitution play a leading role in dispensing justice in American society. Notably, the Constitution gives federal judges the independence and freedom necessary to enable them to take action to streamline the justice delivery system within the courtrooms. With this in mind, judges can play a leading role in addressing implicit bias in criminal courtrooms. Implicit bias refers to the unconscious and automatic elements of prejudice when making a judgment on a given social behavior. In the United States society, particular stereotypes about the minority and marginalized members of society are common and play a major role in shaping high-stakes decision-making (Levinson, Smith, & Hioki, 2019). The stressful nature of the criminal process significantly increases the role of implicit bias in the decision-making process.
High rates of incarceration in the United States has seen a disproportionate representation of African American in prison, with a study conducted showing that Blacks make up 30 percent of the prison population (Kovera, 2019). The figure is disconcerting given that African Americans account for 13 percent of the total population. Equally, Hispanics are only 18 percent of the US population but are 22 percent of the prison population (Kovera, 2019). Kovera (2019) notes that the disproportionate arrest of members of the two ethnic populations accounts for 70 to 75 of the racial disparities in incarceration. In the same vein, two major causes of differential incarceration of minorities and marginalized groups are prosecutors’ bias and public defenders’ bias. Training attorneys on implicit bias, auditing case outcomes, allowing time for the attorneys' decision-making process, and adding questions to the plea colloquy are four main solutions that could eliminate or reduce the impact of implicit bias in criminal courtrooms.
Prosecutors’ Bias
While some district attorney offers training programs intended to minimize implicit bias, there is minimal evidence to indicate that prosecutors are not affected by implicit bias when making decisions in criminal court proceedings. Notably, there are multiple stages that prosecutors can be affected by implicit bias when making a decision. The initial d...