A Qualitative Exploration of Black and White Women’s Perceptions of Procedural Justice

Procedural justice theory has a lengthy history of application in criminological research. Over time, the theory has been applied to police stops, arrests, court procedures, and other aspects of the criminal legal system. However, much of the extant research examines procedural justice generally among minoritized groups and fails to utilize intersectional approaches focusing on race and gender. The current study addresses this limitation by using qualitative data from 336 system-involved women in Michigan to explore White and Black women’s perceptions of procedural justice. The findings revealed that Black women have somewhat more nuanced and unsatisfactory perceptions of procedural justice, but White women’s perceptions were not overwhelmingly positive either. In addition, women in both groups felt that judges were more procedurally just than the police. Both theoretical and practical implications are presented.