Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1981

Publication Title

Social Problems

Abstract

I challenge David Jacobs' support for the conflict model of the legal order, finding serious limitations in his cross-sectional test of the model. To avoid these limitations and to extend the scope of Jacobs' study, I (1) apply his model to four additional crimes against persons and property; (2 ) examine race as an additional dimension of social inequality; and (3) consider how levels of crime might influence imprisonment ratios, a factor Jacobs ignored. I find no support for the hypothesis that race is a significant determinant of state imprisonment practices. Nor do I find income inequality a significant factor in imprisonment for crimes against persons and property, except in the case of larceny.

Original Citation

Bailey, William C. 1981. "Inequality in the Legal Order: Some Further Analysis and Commentary." Social Problems 29(1):51-60.

DOI

10.1525/sp.1981.29.1.03a00040

Version

Postprint

Volume

29

Issue

1

Included in

Sociology Commons

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