Over the last several decades, federal courts have devoted considerable effort towards improving fairness in sentencing. Despite these efforts, research has consistently shown that racial/ethnic minority defendants receive harsher sentences than similarly situated White defendants. While a large body of research has detected these racial/ethnic disparities, relatively few studies have examined how they have changed over time in light of the different legal, societal, and priority changes in federal criminal courts (and the United States more broadly). Using 22 years of federal sentencing data, the current study assesses trends in Black-White and Hispanic-White sentencing disparities (net of factors relevant to sentencing). Results suggest that trends in racial/ethnic sentencing disparities differ by the dependent variable examined. At incarceration, Black and Hispanic disadvantages have been largely time stable. However, racial/ethnic effects on sentence length have changed over time, diminishing in early years before re-aggravating in later years. Findings suggest that the movement towards racial/ethnic equity in sentencing has been slower than many might hope, with setbacks along the way. The re-emergence of racial/ethnic disadvantages indicates the need for a renewed focus towards reducing racial/ethnic disparities and creating greater egalitarianism in sentencing.

在过去的几十年里，联邦法院为提高量刑的公平性付出了相当大的努力。尽管做出了这些努力，但研究始终表明，种族/少数族裔被告比处境相似的白人被告受到更严厉的判决。虽然大量研究发现了这些种族/民族差异，但相对较少的研究考察了它们如何随着联邦刑事法院（以及更广泛的美国）的不同法律、社会和优先权变化而随时间发生变化。使用 22 年的联邦量刑数据，当前的研究评估了黑人-白人和西班牙裔-白人量刑差异的趋势（扣除与量刑相关的因素）。结果表明，种族/族裔量刑差异的趋势因所检查的因变量而异。在监禁期间，黑人和西班牙裔的劣势在很大程度上是时间稳定的。然而，种族/族裔对刑期长度的影响随着时间的推移而发生变化，在早年减少，然后在晚年重新加重。调查结果表明，在量刑中实现种族/族裔平等的进程比许多人希望的要慢，并且一路上都遇到了挫折。种族/民族劣势的重新出现表明需要重新关注减少种族/民族差异并在量刑中创造更大的平等主义。调查结果表明，在量刑中实现种族/族裔平等的进程比许多人希望的要慢，并且一路上都遇到了挫折。种族/民族劣势的重新出现表明需要重新关注减少种族/民族差异并在量刑中创造更大的平等主义。调查结果表明，在量刑中实现种族/族裔平等的进程比许多人希望的要慢，并且一路上都遇到了挫折。种族/民族劣势的重新出现表明需要重新关注减少种族/民族差异并在量刑中创造更大的平等主义。