The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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It’s rather difficult because the system is run by human beings, who bring
all kinds of ideas into the system. One thing I try to keep in mind, and I
think we’re all doing it and we’re reminded by others to do this, is to work
with people from where they are rather than from where we think they
ought to be. We’ve got to take into account what their culture dictates is
Ok. We constantly have to take a look at that and make sure that we’re not
imposing our needless attitudes on them, there are certain things that the
community has to insist on.
As far as being totally unbiased, in any situation, I think it’s kind of tough
not to have some prejudice, because we’re raised with it. It’s almost like
original sin, like a tainted part of being white in America. And you really
have to keep an open eye and try not to be that way, and work at that all
the time. I don’t know if it’s possible not to have some innate or trained
biases.
There were quite a few decision makers that believe it is possible for whites to get
better and less severe sentences than blacks because they can retain private as opposed to
court-appointed attorneys. These explanations range from the court trying to avoid
intervention to economic bias.
When a family has resources, you are more likely to do less with them
than an individual who has no resources whatsoever. As far as I’m
concerned, if the court can keep out of someone’s life, I think that we owe
that to that individual to let them show the court that they do have the
resources and if they don’t follow through with it, then the court should
get involved. Parents need to take action and get involved.
I have to classify it just to whites in general; there are some middle-class
families out there that are black or hispanic or oriental or asian. I think it is
more the economic situation and I don’t want to say that it happens all the
time, but it does happen. There are people who get out of crimes that they
are charged with.