CUNY study analyzes racial, ethnic disparities in Brooklyn DA’s Office

It found fewer than expected racial inequalities

October 28, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, right, is joined by New York State Attorney General Letitia James as he speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, in New York. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

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On Thursday, the CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance (ISLG) released the findings of a multi-year study analyzing racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes at key points in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office’s decision-making process.

Conducted as part of the DA Eric Gonzalez’s Justice 2020 initiative with joint support from Arnold Ventures and the William T. Grant Foundation, the research presented in “Justice in Decision-Making: Studying Racial & Ethnic Disparities in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office” found that while disparities existed at specific decision points and for certain crimes, outcomes were not universally worse for Black and Hispanic people, and better for white and Asian people, across all stages.

The findings — derived from data collected between 2016 and mid-2019 — paint a nuanced and complex picture that assesses not only current policies and practices shaped by ongoing reforms within the office but also now-defunct practices that have since been phased out; system stakeholders outside the prosecutor’s authority; and broader root causes of racial inequity in America. After analyzing outcomes at every step from case acceptance to sentencing, ISLG found that while Black and Hispanic people were more likely to exit the system at various points than white people, those who stayed in the system had worse outcomes in various circumstances.

Disparities were not pervasive across points, which may be attributed, at least in certain respects, to ongoing reform strategies advanced by the DA over the past several years. Evidence suggested that policy changes enacted by the DA may have lessened disparities in certain outcomes over time, providing useful information on what may and may not be working.

ISLG identified the following key findings after other demographic characteristics, criminal history, and case characteristics were accounted for:

Prosecutors were more likely to decline to prosecute cases involving Black and Hispanic people accused of crimes, though by very small margins. However, up until 2019, Black and Hispanic people were more likely than white people to have their cases accepted for prosecution for misdemeanor drug offenses, and especially for misdemeanor marijuana possession. Prosecutors were also more likely to dismiss cases with Black and Hispanic defendants at or following arraignment, and these differences were somewhat larger and more meaningful than those found at case acceptance.
Black and Hispanic people were less likely to have their top charge reduced and were more likely to experience detention post-arraignment — largely due to failure to make bail compared to white people.
When convicted, Black and Hispanic people were less likely to negotiate a plea to a lesser charge and, at least for misdemeanors, were slightly more likely to receive jail or prison sentences compared to white people. They were also more likely to receive custodial sentences for felony drug offenses.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said, “Transparency and accountability are bedrock principals of my office and integral part of my Justice 2020 action plan. The comprehensive data analysis performed by ISLG is particularly instructive as we continuously strive to lessen racial inequities in the justice system because it points to areas of successful reforms and provides a roadmap to aspects that require additional efforts.

“I am grateful to Michael Jacobson and his team for their diligent work on this study, and remain committed to keep pushing for a fairer justice system that keeps our community safe while strengthening community trust,” he said.

“We were very pleased to partner with the DA and his office on this important initiative,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance. “Our report shows that over the past several years, the DA’s office has been able to offset some of the disparities affecting Black and Hispanic communities in Brooklyn. Given the important role that prosecutors play in the criminal legal system, there is great potential to build on these efforts to advance equal justice more broadly.

“By investing in data and analytics, and through his willingness to open his office up to this in-depth and objective analysis, DA Gonzalez is taking an important step towards transparency and accountability that can serve as a model for other offices across the nation,” he added.