Equal Justice Under the Law? An Experiment on Racial Bias in the Military Justice System

Reports show that Black service members disproportionately face military justice actions compared to White service members. Research in civilian justice systems has shown the effects of racial bias at all discretionary points in the system. In the Army, leaders' discretion as to how to dispose of misconduct is similarly susceptible to racial bias. In this study, the researcher investigated whether the race of a soldier affects the decision points where a first sergeant makes a recommendation, and a company-level commander decides how to dispose of a soldier's misconduct. The researcher collected data from 88 CGSOC and 21 SGM-A students through a computerized survey in which they read four legal packets, randomized as to whether they received the Black or White soldier version of each. Results showed that race of the soldier subject did not affect the participants' decisions. This suggests that racial bias at other points in the system, as well as other potentially non-bias factors, are more likely to be significant contributing factors to the racial disparities identified in the military justice system.