Chivalry and Paternalism: Disparities of Treatment in the Criminal Justice System

QUALITY of treatment by law, as symbolized by the image of a blindfolded woman balancing the scales of justice, is among the most fundamental principles of American democracy. Equality as a matter of practice, however, has fallen far short of the ideal for much of the criminal justice system in the United States. Differential treatment, based on race, sex, class, education, age, geographical region, or physical appearance, has been accorded individuals and entire groups by the criminal justice system. The two groups that seem to have been most studied as victims of potential and actual discriminatory treatment by the criminal justice system have been racial minorities and the poor. Dramatic inequities related to race and poverty have been especially troubling to the American public in recent years, and a substantial amount of research has been conducted as a result of these concerns.