ABSTRACT
There is relatively little known about misdemeanor justice in America and even less about racial disparities in misdemeanor court outcomes. This chapter will highlight research that has examined the impact of race on outcomes at various stages of misdemeanor court processing and will discuss the impact of those outcomes on the lives of people of color. Generally, the research highlighted in this chapter will show that racial minorities, specifically African Americans, have disparate outcomes in misdemeanor pretrial detention, charging decisions, plea bargaining, and sentencing. Recommendations for reducing racial disparities in the lower courts and for expanding scholarship on misdemeanor justice are discussed.
