Statistical Inequality and Intentional (Not Implicit) Discrimination

22 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2016

See all articles by Michael Selmi

Michael Selmi

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Date Written: 2016

Abstract

Racial disparities remain a disturbing fact of American life but whether those disparities are the product of discrimination remains deeply contested. This is an important question because as a society we are committed to remedying discrimination but are significantly more conflicted over addressing racial disparities that are not tied to discrimination. This essay explores the question of how we can determine when statistical disparities are the product of discrimination, and relies on two areas where the presence of racial disparities are incontrovertible – police automobile stops and school discipline. Based on a large number of studies, there is little question that African-American drivers are stopped and searched more frequently than whites, even though contraband is found more commonly on white drivers. Similarly, based on studies dating to the 1970s, African-American students are suspended and expelled at rates that are generally three times as high as white students, and there is little reason to believe that the disparities are solely explained by the behavior of African-American students. After refuting the nondiscriminatory explanations that are often offered to justify the disparities, the last part of the essay urges policymakers to treat repeated patterns of behavior as intentional, as opposed to implicit, discrimination, and offers a critique of the recent turn to implicit bias.

Keywords: Discrimination, Education, Criminal Law, Law and Society Public Law

Suggested Citation

Selmi, Michael L., Statistical Inequality and Intentional (Not Implicit) Discrimination (2016). Law and Contemporary Problems (2016), Forthcoming , GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2016-19, GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2016-19, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2797291

Michael L. Selmi (Contact Author)

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law ( email )

Box 877906
Tempe, AZ 85287-7906
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
119
Abstract Views
811
Rank
422,437
PlumX Metrics