Policy Exam 2

Assimilation

to have a full understanding of something (typically a culture)

Describe the budget considerations of the U.S.'s approach to criminal justice, including the disparity between spending on incarceration versus rehabilitation.

- 60 billion per year - Our nation tolerates vast expenditures for incarceration while investing minimum in treatment

When did African Americans' disproportionate representation in the criminal justice systems of Southern U.S. states begin?

- After the civil war - from the conception of criminal justice system - The criminal justice system served as a vehicle by which states assumed control of newly freed African American's - Confederate veterans were hired as police force

Describe the effects of the policy construction of American Indian tribes as "internal dependent nations".

- Assigned to Congress through the Constitution and affirmed later in the 1802 Indian Trade and Intercourse Act, which provided that no Native American land would be ceded to the United States except through treaties with Congress.

Describe the Chinese immigration experience to the US as presented in the text. Compare and contrast this experience to that of Japanese immigrants.

- Chinese came in search of "Gold Mountain," a land of beauty and wealth. - Chinese government imposed high taxes, pushing the chinese out. - Were welcomed into the US and created Chinatown in San Francisco - Because chinese workers were highly effective in the labor process, the chinese exclusion act of 1882 was enacted - Chinese were seen as potential threats to the "purity" of the white race. - Laws to keep white people from marrying African Americans or Chinese people

Describe the corrections system and its components.

- Consists of 3 components and operate at federal, state and sometimes local levels - Law enforcement (police officers) - The courts (lawyers and judges) - Corrections (jail, prison, parole and probation)

Describe the 1968 Safe Streets Act and the ways in which it expanded the federal government's role in criminal justice in the U.S.

- Declaration of war on drugs - Established the law enforcement assistance administration: managed federal research grants as well as block grants to state law enforcement agencies - An Act to assist State and local governments in reducing the incidence of crime, to increase the effectiveness, fairness, and coordination of law enforcement and criminal justice systems at all levels of government, and for other purposes. - Set the stage for urban surveillance by providing the nation's first wiretapping rules - Paved the way for an expanded federal role in criminal justice - Before this presidents wanted to eliminate the conditions that fostered crime, but now there was a focus on managing and containing crime through an increased police presence in low income neighborhoods and expanded prison construction - The bill increased the FBI budget - directing federal trial judges to admit statements of criminal defendants if they were made voluntarily, without regard to whether he had received the Miranda warnings - specifies that nothing in the act or the Federal Communications Act of 1934 shall limit the constitutional power of the President "to take such measures as he deems necessary" - "extended the Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure to protect individuals with a "reasonable expectation of privacy."

what factors contribute to lower median incomes and higher rates of poverty among African American families in the US?

- Education level - access to education - inability to get above minimum wage jobs because of the privileged group's to maintain their positions

Describe "English-only" proposals

- English-only proposals surfaced as early as 1780 when John Adams proposed that the Continental Congress establish an official academy to "purify, develop, and dictate the usage of English". - English-only proponents have been more successful at passing state legislation, and as of this writing, official English requirements have been established in most states.

Describe the measures that were designed to maintain racial privilege in the New Deal legislation.

- Exclusion of domestic workers from Social Security coverage - legislation allowing unions to exclude racial minorities - permitting the use of race as a criterion for granting housing loans.

Explain second-generation barriers to minority voting rights and give examples.

- First-generation barriers were things like literacy tests which were taken away. - Ginsburg warned of second-generation barriers which included things like "the mayor and all-white city council decided to cancel the 2001 local elections after a large number of African Americans declared their candidacy for office" - Other examples include: redistricting that eliminates voting districts with a majority of African American or Latino voters, moving polling places out of minority neighborhoods, eliminating the option of early voting, and establishing complex or duplicative registration requirements.

Discuss the 1967 Gault case

- Gault - 15 year old was arrested and accused of making phone calls - At the time Gault was on probation from being present when another kid stole a wallet - Gault's parents were at work and were not told that he was arrested - Gault was sent to jail and parents were told he would have a hearing the next day - There was no record of the hearing and a couple days later he was released - Gault was to have a hearing about the case next week - Mom requested that the person that complained about her son making phone calls be at the hearing but was told that wasn't necessary - Sentenced to prison for 6 years. This would result in a 50$ for an adult and no more than 2 months in jail.

Describe the effects that "three-strike laws" have had on incarceration rates.

- Habitual offender: 3 felonies in a row = mandatory minimum of 20 years to life - Resulted in a drastic increase in the states prison population

Describe the first juvenile court and what was its purpose?

- Informal hearings - The judge acts as a "parental guide". Juveniles "...treated not as criminals but as children in need of aid, encouragement, and guidance." - The creators of the juvenile justice system originally viewed it as a system for providing prevention, protection, and redirection to youth - The system relied on the benevolence of JCJ - Criticism: Juvenile offenders denied due process

Describe the Controlled Substances Act. Which category of drugs are its primary targets for criminalization? Why?

- Keystone of the war on drugs - Categorized controlled substances into five schedules based on their abuse potential, medical use and safety issues - Schedule 1 being the most serious - heroin, LSD, marijuana, ecstasy - States were required to pass laws that supported CSA - Possession and distribution of schedule 1 drugs became subject to state and federal prosecution - Established the DEA under the department of justice to enforce CSA - Drug abuse was seen as America's number 1 problem and was tackled through a zero tolerance policy, mandatory sentencing for drug offenses, and rising enforcement efforts

Discuss the ways that incarceration was incorporated into state laws following the Revolutionary War. What were the reasons?

- Many people were immigrating to the US so the population grew and the wealth gap grew - Populations moved from town to town and into cities, community based punishments such as banishment didnt work - Incarceration was originally introduced into state law as one of several alternatives - Later, along w fines and the death penalty, incarcerations became the only sanctions avaliable to judges - Pennsylvania model: advocated for solitary confinement to seperate inmates from their bad environment - Auburn model: allowed inmates to work in congregate workshops during the day (modern day slavery)

How does the text describe the effects of the accumulation of race-based disparities in the criminal justice system? What are the three disproportionate outcomes that occur as juveniles and adults move through the criminal justice system?

- More likely to be arrested, detained, and charged - Receive more severe sentences

Under Federal law, how are penalties affected when a crime happens because a person is a racial minority?

- Nearly all states have passed hate crime statutes that mirror federal law, allowing harsher penalties for crimes targeting people based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. - About half of the hate crime statutes at the state level include sexual orientation

What political party/parties are in favor of criminal justice reform. Why?

- One of the few issues that has bipartisan support - Concern about cost of mass incarceration - Corners at injustices associated with mandatory sentences - Although the parties disagree on what the best course of action is - Incremental approach to criminal justice reform

Describe the "ripple effect" of incarceration

- Over half of incarcerated men and ⅔ incarcerated women leave behind minor children -Extends in unexpected directions -Reentry and recidivism contribute to social disorganization in disadvantaged neighborhoods -Epidemics linked to crowded prisons: HIV, meningitis, TB -Gang violence from issues on the inside -Removes millions of low and unskilled workers from the economy which lowers the US unemployment rate -Greatest for individuals, families and communities of color

Describe the relationship between drug offenses and incarceration rates in the U.S.

- Positively correlated - Half of federal inmates are incarcerated for drug offenses and 15% of state inmates are incarcerated for drug offenses

Define and describe the concept of restorative justice. What are some examples of how this is used in communities?

- Promotes rehabilitation through a reconsideration of the relationships between citizens, the state, and the community - Goal: repair the harm done by a crime and repair the relationships between offender, victim and community Promotes dialogue that is focused on reintegration of criminals into their communities through things such as victim offender mediation programs and diversion efforts - The youth promise act is a federal level law with bipartisan support which proposes to fund many restorative justice programs designed to break the school to prison pipeline -Evidence that restorative justice enhances victim satisfaction and reduce recidivism

What is the text's position on the types of factors associated with the concept of "race"?

- Race is a social construct - economic, historical, and political all go into the meaning of race - All circles back to colonialism and the impact european descent had on those that were a different race. - This happened in the US, europe, and Latin America (specifically brazil),

What are some of the factors in the U.S. criminal justice system that contribute to the significant overrepresentation of people of color generally and of African Americans in particular?

- Racial profiling (p. 298-299) - Starts in juvy: In every state, minority males have a higher probability rate of incarceration before age of 18 than their white peers - Disproportionate minority contact - African Americans made up 17% of US juvy population but accounted for 31% of all arrests -Status offenses: African Americans are 269% more likely than whites to be arrested for curfew violations -Disparities for Hispanic and native Americans are similar -More likely to be arrested, detained, and charged in Juvy -Empirical bias at every stage all accumulates Adult system -African Americans are 2.5 more likely than whites to be arrested -African Americans represented 13% of the population yet made up 28% of arrests, 40% of individuals incarcerated, 42% of the people on death row -African Americans are given harsher punishments than whites -African Americans are 6x as likely, native Americans 4x as likely, and Hispanics 2x as likely as whites to be incarcerated

Identify and describe recent policy changes that may slow the trend of increased incarceration that occurred under the "war on drugs".

- Recommendations to replace the war on drugs with policies and strategies such as harm reduction, drug abuse prevention and rehab programs - The sentencing reform and corrections act: designed to reduce federal mandatory minimum on drug sentences -Decriminalise marijuana - pretty successful - Compassionate use act: allows people with chronic illness to use cannabis if it was prescribed - Conflict between federal and state drug laws - Most recently -----> Oregon: decriminalizing drugs

Describe the position and function of the U.S. Attorney General.

- Responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in cases that are heard by the federal judiciary - Appointed by the president for 4 years - 90% of offenders plead guilty in exchange for a more lenient sentence, most do not go to trial - Those that do go to trial can appeal to the US supreme court but very few of these appeals are actually heard

What has been the primary focus of the U.S. criminal justice system over time?

- Revenge, rehabilitation, and deterrence - Rehabilitation has received the least attention - Even though rehabilitation results in a better outcome than either revenge or deterrence

How does the U.S. correctional system intersect with Native Americans?

- Similar to african american's - Disproportionately represented native american's 4x as likely, and hispanics 2x as likely as whites to be incarcerated - Native youth are highly impacted by the US prison system: account for 1% of the national youth population, 70% of youth taken into federal prison are Native American - According to wikipedia: native american's are the largest group per capita in the US prison system and are more likely to be affected by police violence than any other racial group

Describe the 2005 SCOTUS ruling in Roper v. Simmons. What sentencing practices were changed as a result?

- Simmons was sentenced to death at 17 - Appealed: Does the execution of minors violate the prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment" found in the Eighth Amendment and applied to the states through the incorporation doctrine of the 14th Amendment? -Decision: Yes. -In a 5-4 opinion delivered by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court ruled that standards of decency have evolved so that executing minors is "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. -Before 2005, some states allowed 16, 17, and 18-year-olds to be legally allowed to be executed.

Describe the challenges of social work within the criminal justice system as described in the text. What factors require "balancing" in order for this to have the chance to work?

- Social workers have had limited impact on shaping criminal justice policies and assuming leadership roles - Face an ethical challenge: weigh the needs of the justice system against those of the offender - US policymakers are looking for new approaches that are evidence-based not based on ideology to achieve criminal justice - Puts social workers in a unique position to weigh in on behalf of disadvantaged individuals and communities

Discuss how the ruling in the 1967 Gault case changed juvenile justice procedures.

- Supreme court ruled that the judges discretion is not enough to convict someone and that the 14th amendment and bill of rights apply to not only adults but also children - Created procedural requirements for juvenile cases - Notice of charges, the right of the child to legal counsel, the right to confront and cross examine complainants, and protection against self incrimination - Separation of juveniles from adult offenders - Sealing juvenile records so they wouldn't them as an adult

At what point do U.S. Census designers permit individuals to select more than one racial category?

- The 1820 census added the term "colored," as well as questions about nativity, with a new category for "foreigners not naturalized." By 1850, the color question distinguished between slaves who were "black" and those who were "mulatto." Categories for Chinese and American Indians were added in 1879, and by 1890 the race question included a range of options: White, Black, Mulatto, Quadroon, Octoroon, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian. In 1900, a question was added to indicate the "fraction of a person's lineage that is white." - Mexican was added in 1930 - Finally by 2000, americans were able to select more than one race

What was the significance of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision?

- The committee chose a person of mixed race in order to support its contention that the law could not be consistently applied, because it failed to define the white and "coloured" races. - Homer Plessy: purchased a rail ticket and took a seat in a car reserved for white passengers. - He was arrested and charged with violating the Separate Car Act. - Plessy argued that the Separate Car Act (1890) is an unconstitutional infringement on the equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. - SCOTUS' Ruling: "Separate but Equal" The state law is within constitutional boundaries... segregation does not in itself constitute unlawful discrimination (if all else is equal). - Separate but equal- this left a lasting impact on segregation across the country because it set the guidelines for segregated schools, public spaces, etc etc.

Describe the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act and its impact on the treatment of youth convicted of status offenses.

- The vessel for reforming the juvenile courts - The act changed the court's treatment of youth convicted of less serious offenses called status offenses - Status offenses: behaviors that can be regulated because of a youth's status as a minor - Such as curfew violation, truancy, and failure to respond to parental authority - Before this act, children who committed status offenses were incarcerated in detention facilities with those guilty of serious crimes - Required states to separate status offenders from those guilty of criminal acts - As a result; 40% of youths who were status offenders were diverted from detention facilities

Describe the class-conflict perspective on racism.

- There is conflict between classes, mostly depending on socioeconomic status. Example= conflict between owners of a company and people working in the factory. - managers vs. servers in a restaurant

What was the significance of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision? Which organization brought the complaint that eventually resulted in this decision?

- Thurgood Marshall thought segregation produced enduring damage in African American children, scarring them for life with a sense of inferiority. - Browns argument: the segregation of public education based solely on race violates the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment - Scotus' ruling: 'separate but equal' facilities are inherently unequal and violate the protections of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment - The Court also held that the segregation of public education based on race instilled a sense of inferiority that had a hugely detrimental effect on the education and personal growth of African American children.

what is the status of existing American Indian tribes in terms of their recognition by the federal government?

- Tribes that are officially recognized by the federal government are considered internal, dependent nations - Under the Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act of 1975, tribes are permitted to manage health programs that were formerly under the purview of the IHS - residents of reservations do not pay local property taxes - Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

Discuss the relationship between felony convictions and the right to vote.

- Type of Civil death - 12 states - felons lose the right to vote forever - Only 2 states don't restrict voting rights to prisoners - 6 million Americans are prohibited from voting, disproportionately affecting African Americans - In international standards, this violates human rights

Which country has the highest incarceration rate in the world? Why?

- United States aka Incarceration nation - 5% of the world population, but 20% of the world's prison population - Incarceration rates do not track with crime trends - Massive increase in incarceration due to the war on drugs

Describe the arguments for and against crime victims' participation in court and parole proceedings.

- Victims of crime act: established a process for funding victims services through fines paid by federal criminal offenders, and codified victims rights - Crime victims right act: established victims rights in relation to court and parole proceedings. - Victims are notified and are allowed to participate in criminal proceedings - Also provided for restitution and emergency assistance, counseling and social service referrals - For: preventing additional harm to victims - Against: victim inclusion may introduce too much emotion into court proceedings and interfere with the rights of defendants by giving preference to the victims desires for either vengeance or forgiveness. -Shifts focus from punishment to the victims desire for closure.

Differential treatment framework (broad theoretical explanation for race-based disparities)

- focuses on decisions made by law enforcement and judges that result in higher arrest rates and harsher sentences for people of color. - Emphasises the role of implicit biases and explicit behaviors such as racial profiling in determining criminal justice events that can range from labeling african american youth as "likely criminals" to targeting african american neighborhoods for survelliance and arresting men on charges of loitering.

Differential offending framework (broad theoretical explanation for race-based disparities)

- focuses on the offenders themselves, suggesting that people of color are more likely to commit crimes due to individual and contextual risk factors. - Unstable, disadvantaged communities, poor schools, delinquent peers, single parents and greater exposure to violence as risk factors that disproportionately affect people of color.

Provide explanations for the higher median household income of Asian/Pacific Islander Americans.

- more likely to have more than two workers within a household. - workers of Asian descent tend to be overrepresented in the ranks of managerial and professional workers. - Asian Americans have historically had a relatively high rate of business ownership (Population reference Bureau

Describe the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1976 as presented in the text.

- seeks to keep American Indian children in American Indian families. - An alarmingly high percentage of Indian families in comparison to the general population have been broken up by the removal of their children by non-tribal public and private agencies. - Many have been placed in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions.

oppression

- unjust treatment or control of a certain group - "Fuses institutional and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry, and social prejudice in a complex web of relationships and structures that saturate most aspects of life in our society."

Describe standardized employment testing that resulted in racial disparities as interpreted by 1966 EEOC guidelines.

- used during the 1960s in hiring and promotion decisions. - In addition to measuring proficiency in specific skills, these tests often purported to measure general aptitude or intelligence. - Because of limited educational opportunities, people of color did poorly on the tests.

What are the primary factors that contribute to a risk of recidivism by formerly incarcerated persons? Why?

- ⅔ of parolees are arrested within 3 years of release - Finding housing is difficult. Most places won't rent to anyone with a conviction in the past 10 years - Those with drug charges are banned from public housing - Many become homeless - Subject to high rates of unemployment - 67% of employers will not hire someone with any criminal conviction -Parolees are not allowed to practice law, real estate, medicine, nursing, physical therapy, and education

Describe the different roles that social workers play in the U.S. criminal justice system.

-Advise the courts on disposition of juvenile cases and sentencing of adults - Serve as probation and parole officers - Operate diversion programs for mentally ill offenders - Staff drug courts -Provide counseling to crime victims -Provide rehabilitation services to drug offenders -Oversee reentry programs -Work with communities to address the root causes of crime

Where was the first juvenile court constructed

1899, Cook County, IL

According to the text, which ethnic group has the lowest household income in the U.S.?

African American or native americans

According to Park and Gordon, what will eventually happen to the phenomenon of racism? What process is critical to this change?

Assimilation is the final stage in both perspectives- making racism go away by the full understanding of cultures, races, religions, ethnicities, etc.

Identify the U.S. states that were once part of Mexico.

California, New Mexico, Arizona

what are the two broad theoretical explanations for race-based disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system?

Differential offending framework and Differential treatment framework

List the racial categories identified on the first official U.S. census in 1790.

Free white, free other, and slave

Gordon's phenomenon of racism

Gordon believes in cultural assimilation (the minority culture is accepted or tolerated by the majority culture), marital assimilation (interracial marriages occur in large numbers), and prejudice-free assimilation (the final stage, when notions of racial superiority disappear).

According to the text, to what can the growth in the number of Americans identified as American Indian/Alaskan Native in the 2000 Census be attributed?

In the last consensus, there were 26 options for ethnicity. Because there are so many options, people can be more specific about their ethnicity.

Parks phenomenon of racism

Park believes there are 4 stages which include: initial contact between racial and ethnic groups, competition between these groups, accommodation, and assimilation.

Describe measures that were used to deny voting rights to African Americans.

Poll taxes, literacy tests, fraud, intimidation

Under the Naturalization Act of 1790, what was the status of American Indians?

They were denied citizenship and classified as "domestic foreigners".

Identify and describe the source of the rising trend of incarceration in the U.S., as discussed in the text.

War on crime and drugs

which ethnic group has the highest household income in the U.S.?

asian

Internalized

desire to be like the high-valued group that is the oppressor

jim crow laws

law passed in 188 designed to "keep negroes in their place". Started with not allowing blacks to sit with whites in railroad cars and later turned into mass segregation across the united states (schools, buses, public places)

Under the most recent census estimates, how will the US population change by 2042?

made up of mostly minorities.

what was Wilson's position on the evolution and function of racism?

racism is the result of oppressive economic arrangements. It pro- vides justification for the suppression of one group for the benefit of another