Abstract
Building on a relatively recent tradition in studies of the civilian criminal justice system, the present research examined the potential racial bias in time-related variables inherent in the administration of courts-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The sample consisted of a database of all adjudicated charges in the U.S. Army of aggravated assault, drug-related, and sex-related crimes between 1986 and 1992. The results of the analyses of two main and three explanatory hypotheses indicated that, with regard to non-sex-related offenses, blacks spent longer going from initial charges to final disposition, were older than whites, and had been in the service longer. The relationship was reversed for sex-related crimes. The presence or absence of a negotiated plea bargain was found to have negligible effects on duration in the system. No consistent correlation was found between intellectual ability and time spent in the system. These results were interpreted in terms of an interaction between the level of potential public interest in a crime and the race of the accused, with blacks receiving accelerated treatment in crimes involving sex and less attention in the case of other crimes.
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