The intersection of defendantsʹ race, gender, and age in prosecutorial decision making

A growing body of research examined the ways in which various legal and extralegal factors influence prosecutorsʹ charging decisions. Though the results of these studies were mixed, some researchers reported that extralegal factors had little or no effect on important decisions such as case rejection and dismissal. The majority of this research, however, suffered from a considerable shortcoming—that is, most studies considered the direct effects of measures such as age, race, and gender, but failed to consider the potential interactions that might occur between these factors. Consequently, the present research employed a nationally representative sample of felony drug defendants to address this issue by examining whether or not age and gender condition the effect of race on prosecutorsʹ decisions to dismiss criminal charges. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of theory, research, and policy.