Criminal Expungement: Racial Disparity

By Amanda West, Shannon Paylor, and Gaurav Anand @University of Virginia 2021.

Table of Contents

1. Questions of Interest
2. Link Dump
3. Circuit 2019 Results
   1. Question 1
   2. Question 2
   3. Question 3
   4. Question 4
   5. Question 5
   6. Question 6
   7. Question 7
4. District 2019 Results
   1. Question 1
   2. Question 2
   3. Question 3
   4. Question 4
   5. Question 5
   6. Question 6
   7. Question 7

Questions of Interest

1. Find from the census the total population of Virginia by racial group and see if racial groups in the court data are over/under represented
2. Create a map of racial disparity by area, and we can show changes in that map over time
3. What criminal charges produce the worst racial disparities?
4. Count the number of black people charged with felonies vs. white people charge with misdemeanors for the same offense by year
5. Count the number of black people convicted of felonies vs. white people convicted of misdemeanors (or not convicted at all) for the same offense by year
6. What are the most common offenses in the VA court system
7. Make a bar plot of the 20 most frequent codes

Link Dump

• Census Data: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-counties-detail.html
• Criminal Expungement Trello: https://trello.com/c/UXTdBnkY/1-racial-disparity-in-enforcement-and-sentencing
• Final Write-up: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QYquBrj9K4stv4KU_xCKx7NdjiMjccemkaXdyqMH3iQ/edit
• Description between ChargeType & Chargecode: http://www.vcsc.virginia.gov/VCCs/2018/VCCReseachStatute.pdf
• Court Data: https://virginiacourtdata.org/
• Population Data: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/file-layouts/2010-2019/cc-est2019-alldata.pdf
• Virginia Geospatial Population Data: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/map/VA/RHI225219
• Code for Charlottesville Github: https://github.com/code-for-charlottesville/LAJC-expungement/blob/main/README.md
• Code for Charlottesville Pull Requests: code-for-charlottesville/LAJC-expungement#2

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Circuit 2019 Data

Question 1a

Find from the census the total population of Virginia by racial group and see if racial groups in the court data are over/under represented

Question 2a

Create a map of racial disparity by area, and we can show changes in that map over time

• James Bennett's Work

Question 3a

What criminal charges produce the worst racial disparities?

Question 4a

Count the number of black people charged with felonies vs. white people charge with misdemeanors for the same offense by year

Question 5a

Count the number of black people convicted of felonies vs. white people convicted of misdemeanors (or not convicted at all) for the same offense by year

Question 6a

What are the most common offenses in the VA court system

Question 7a

Make a bar plot of the 20 most frequent codes

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District 2019 Data

Question 1b

Find from the census the total population of Virginia by racial group and see if racial groups in the court data are over/under represented

Question 2b

Create a map of racial disparity by area, and we can show changes in that map over time

• James Bennett's Work

Question 3b

What criminal charges produce the worst racial disparities?

Question 4b

Count the number of black people charged with felonies vs. white people charge with misdemeanors for the same offense by year

Question 5b

Count the number of black people convicted of felonies vs. white people convicted of misdemeanors (or not convicted at all) for the same offense by year

Question 6b

What are the most common offenses in the VA court system

Question 7b

Make a bar plot of the 20 most frequent codes