Paper Topic:

Youth & Corrections

Youth Corrections

1 . Racial minorities make up a very small proportion of the lawyers and judges in the United States

The legal profession is known for the predominance of white population and the relatively small representation of minorities . Accounting for that are factors such as history of the profession , racial bias , current low proportion that perpetuates disproportion , and low enrolment of minorities in law schools

For centuries , women and African Americans in particular were prevented by entry into the legal profession by legal and other restrictions (Baum , 2001 .These barriers account

for the fact that the Supreme Court was composed exclusively of white males until 1967 (Baum , 2001 Talented African Americans youths have for years been intensely discouraged from entering the profession because of the apprehension of racial bias that would block their prospects . A notorious example is given in the Autobiography of Malcolm X where he shares with his school teacher intent to pursue a legal career and receives the reponse : you 've got to be realistic about being a nigger . A lawyer - that 's no realistic goal for a nigger (Malcolm X . As is known , Malcolm X did not become a lawyer , choosing the path of a minority rights activist the same reasons could have kept hundreds of even thousands of minority youngsters . The low incidence of minorities among lawyers and judges creates a vacuum of role models that further perpetuates the disproportion in racial representation

Since attendance of the law school is a necessary pre-requisite for entry to the profession , the low numbers of minority students admitted also account for disproportion . For instance , in 1976 , the US law schools admitted only 1700 black and 500 Chicano students representing 4 .9 and 1 .3 , respectively , of the were admitted (Association of American Law Schools , 1978 . This number included students who were accepted because the schools introduced special emphasis on admitting minority students . Without these special admission policies , the number would be around 700 and 300 respectively The problem is that minority students tend to have lower LSAT results and in general demonstrate lower academic performance , partly stemming from their lower socioeconomic status

The disproportion of the racial composition among jurors , judges , and lawyers has often been blamed for the racial bias supposedly present in the US criminal justice system . Overall , the legal profession is notable for an increased presence of individuals from wealthy backgrounds , as coming from a rich family makes acquisition of a degree in law easier The result is the predominance of the high- or middle-class , white , male perspective in the courtroom

Thus , speaking of the Supreme Court , consistently dominated by white males as women and minority candidates are not as likely to pass even the first barrier to selection , one can hypothesize that it seems likely that the legal claims of racial minority groups and of women would have been taken seriously at an earlier time if members of these groups had sat on the Court , because these justices would have influenced their colleagues...

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