Race and Misdemeanor Court Dispositions: An Aggregate Study of the “Tipping Point”New Article, 22 J. Gender, Race & Just. 291. 

Abstract

This macro-level study of misdemeanor court disposition rates in Florida counties over a sixteen-year period lends some support to racial diversity (percentage reporting Black or African American and Some Other Race) as a perceived social threat, resulting in increased misdemeanor disposition rates. Using OLS linear regression and time series analysis, our findings show nuanced influence of racial diversity. Racial diversity was a significant predictor of misdemeanor disposition rates in counties with 10 to 20% reporting Black or African American and Mixed Race, rather than in counties with smaller or larger percentages. Future research—using more robust data sources—should focus on distilling the influence of diversity on perceived social threats, resulting in increased rates of arrests, prosecutions, and dispositions of misdemeanor crimes.