A number of studies have been conducted that assess the role of the prosecutor on judicial decision making in regard to the differential treatment African Americans may receive relative to Whites. Missing from this inquiry has been consideration of the influence that probation officers may have on this process. In the present study, the focal concerns perspective and prior research are used as background to understand the concordance between probation officer sentencing recommendations and decision making by judges and the extent to which this relationship may be tempered by the race of the offender.
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