Research Report
Courts Diversion Pretrial April 1, 2026
Understanding the Impact of Racial and Ethnic Disparities from Arrest to Sentencing
This report focuses on racial and ethnic disparities across three SJC sites: Pima County, AZ, New Orleans, LA, and San Francisco, CA. We examine how each of the three sites approach five major decision points in the criminal legal system: arrest, pretrial decision, diversion decision, case disposition, and sentencing. Each jurisdiction operates within a distinct context shaped by local demographics, economic conditions, and reform initiatives. The sites were selected because of their racial diversity, geographic diversity, and investment in racial and ethnic equity initiatives through the SJC and similar partnerships. Additionally, all three sites are from different regions of the country with various political contexts to provide a wider understanding of the system and to understand what trends may exist across multiple contexts versus what affects might be more localized.
