Race, Class,

1
Race, Class, the Pretrial ContextStudy
Questions

• According to recent scholarship on bail, pretrial
  release, and plea bargaining, how does race and
  ethnicity matter? (Gabbidon and Green pp.
  150-152 154-155)
• According to the U.S. Supreme Court the jury is,
  the criminal defendants fundamental protection
  of life and liberty against race and color
  prejudice, yet, why does David Cole (pp.101-126)
  that racial discrimination in jury selection
  remain a reality today?

2
Race, Class, SentencingStudy Questions

• Why did the Supreme Court rule against Warren
  McCleskeys claim of racial discrimination in the
  imposition of his death sentence? How does
  Wilburn Dobbss case demonstrate how difficult it
  is for capital defendants to meet the standard
  the Court imposed in McCleskey? (Cole pp.134-137)
• Why does David Cole conclude that the McCleskey
  decision extends beyond the criminal justice
  system itself and into questions concerning the
  limits of obtaining judicial relief for racial
  inequality? (Cole pp.137-141)
• What were the major findings of the U.S.
  Sentencing Commisions Report Cocaine and
  Federal Sentencing Policy? (Gabbidon and Green
  pp.188-189)
• How did the Georgia Supreme Court echo the
  Supreme Courts McCleskey ruling when it upheld
  the states Two strikes and youre out drug
  sentencing policy?

3
Race, Class, and the Politics of
SentencingStudy Questions

• http//www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/brownvboard.
  pdf
• Why did the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980
  result in a dramatic punitive turn in American
  criminal justice? (Gabbidon and Green pp.171-175)

4
Race, Class, Crack SentencingDiscussion
Question

• Why is possession of crack cocaine punished 100
  times more severely than possession of powder
  cocaine? Do you agree with this law?
• No qualitative differences between the drugs
• Poor blacks are overwhelmingly prosecuted
• 11 of 21 Black Congressmen voted in favor of the
  100-1 crack-powder differential