Inequality in the Legal Order: Some Further Analysis and Commentary

I challenge David Jacobs' support for the conflict model of the legal order, finding serious limitations in his cross-sectional test of the model. To avoid these limitations and to extend the scope of Jacobs' study, I (1) apply his model to four additional crimes against persons and property; (2) examine race as an additional dimension of social inequality; and (3) consider how levels of crime might influence imprisonment ratios, a factor Jacobs ignored. I find no support for the hypothesis that race is a significant determinant of state imprisonment practices. Nor do I find income inequality a significant factor in imprisonment for crimes against persons and property, except in the case of larceny.