The U.S. legal system has long been critiqued for perpetuating systemic racism, both through laws and practices that directly or indirectly disadvantage racial minorities. Despite progress made in civil rights, the legal system continues to uphold inequalities through biased enforcement of laws, racial profiling, discriminatory sentencing, and unequal access to legal representation. The deep-rooted racial disparities in criminal justice, voting rights, housing, and employment policies are often reinforced by the legal system, which maintains structures of power and privilege that disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Understanding how the legal system upholds systemic racism is crucial in advocating for meaningful reforms and greater racial justice.
Many early laws in the U.S. were explicitly designed to oppress Black people and other racial minorities. For example, the Dred Scott decision of 1857 upheld the idea that Black people were property and had no legal standing. Even after the Civil War, laws such as the Black Codes and Jim Crow laws enforced segregation and denied Black people basic civil rights. The legal legacy of these laws continues to affect the marginalized communities they once oppressed, reinforcing racial inequality.
Law enforcement in the U.S. has been criticized for disproportionately targeting racial minorities, particularly Black and Latino individuals. Racial profiling—where individuals are targeted based on race or ethnicity rather than evidence of wrongdoing—remains prevalent. Police officers often stop, search, and arrest people of color at higher rates than white individuals, even though studies show no significant difference in criminal behavior. This practice contributes to the over-policing of communities of color and perpetuates a cycle of criminalization and incarceration.
The U.S. prison system has been described as one of the largest in the world, with racial minorities, particularly Black Americans, disproportionately represented. Policies such as the War on Drugs have targeted Black and Latino communities at higher rates, despite similar drug usage rates across racial groups. Mandatory minimum sentencing laws, three-strikes laws, and the privatization of prisons have further exacerbated racial disparities in incarceration. These laws have contributed to mass incarceration, where a significant percentage of the Black population is disproportionately incarcerated, stripping them of civil rights and perpetuating economic and social disadvantages.
Racial disparities in sentencing and bail practices contribute to the systemic racism within the legal system. Research shows that people of color are more likely to receive harsher sentences for similar crimes compared to white individuals. Furthermore, bail systems disproportionately affect low-income people of color, as they are less likely to afford bail, leading to longer periods of incarceration before trial. These practices exacerbate racial inequality in the justice system, contributing to the cycle of poverty and criminalization within marginalized communities.
Historically, legal practices such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and voter intimidation were used to prevent Black Americans from voting. Although the Voting Rights Act of 1965 aimed to protect the right to vote, modern-day voter suppression tactics, such as voter ID laws, purging voter rolls, and gerrymandering, still disproportionately impact communities of color. These discriminatory practices reduce political representation and hinder efforts to address racial justice and equity in the U.S.
Legal representation plays a critical role in ensuring fair trials, but people of color often face barriers in accessing adequate legal counsel. Public defenders are often overworked and underfunded, meaning that low-income defendants, who are disproportionately people of color, may not receive the quality of defense they deserve. As a result, these individuals are more likely to be convicted, receive longer sentences, or be subjected to plea deals that are not in their best interest, contributing to racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
Studies have shown that racial bias affects the way juries are selected and the way trials are conducted. For example, prosecutors may strike Black jurors from jury pools at disproportionately high rates. Additionally, implicit racial biases among jurors, judges, and lawyers can influence verdicts, sentencing, and other legal decisions. The presence of such bias reinforces systemic racism in legal proceedings and perpetuates unequal outcomes for people of color.
Civil asset forfeiture laws allow law enforcement to seize property from individuals suspected of being involved in criminal activity, without requiring a conviction or even a formal charge. While these laws are meant to combat crime, they disproportionately affect racial minorities, who are more likely to be stopped by police and have their property seized. This practice often leads to economic instability and further marginalization of people of color.
Beyond criminal justice, systemic racism is upheld through discriminatory practices in housing and employment. Laws like redlining, which prohibited Black people from accessing loans for homes in certain areas, have led to long-standing economic disadvantages. Racial minorities also face discrimination in hiring practices, where they may be passed over for jobs or promotions due to their race, often with little legal recourse.
In 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager, was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, sparking protests across the U.S. The legal system's handling of the case, including the decision not to indict the officer involved, highlighted the racial disparities in how police shootings are handled in the U.S. Black Americans are more likely to be killed by police than white Americans, yet the legal system often fails to hold officers accountable for these killings. This case is just one example of how the legal system perpetuates systemic racism, both in law enforcement and in how it addresses the deaths of people of color.
The U.S. legal system continues to uphold systemic racism through biased policies, discriminatory practices, and unequal access to justice. Understanding how these inequities are perpetuated is critical in advocating for reforms that promote fairness, accountability, and racial justice.
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