Featuring Allison Harris, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Yale University

Abstract: What happens when government institutions become more diverse? Shades of Justice: How Court Composition Influences Sentencing Disparities in U.S. Trial Courts answers this timely question, making the important case that racial diversity in government institutions should not only be measured by whether minority group members’ behavior differs from dominant group members’ behavior. Shifts in diversity within an institution––in this case, criminal trial courts––change the environment where all institution members work, altering the decisions of both dominant and minority group members, even when they make these decisions alone. These shifts can transform institutional outcomes that have a profound impact on (in)equality in American society.

Cosponsored with the Center for Race and Gender

Reception: Lunch 12:15-12:45p.m. in the Kadish Library
Program: 12:45-2:00p.m. in the Philip Selznick Seminar Room

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