Latinos are underrepresented in the ranks of prosecutors in California, but the percentage of Latino prosecutors in Los Angeles County is higher than the statewide average, a Stanford Law School study out Wednesday showed.
The study also indicated that women were more likely to get promoted to a supervisory role in the local district attorney’s office than in other prosecutorial offices statewide.
Nearly 13 percent of prosecutors are Latino in Los Angeles County, where Latinos make up 48 percent of the general population.
Statewide, about 70 percent of prosecutors are white, compared to 9 percent who are Latino, the study found. Latinos make up 39 percent of the California population — one percentage point higher than the Caucasian population.
“The last time 70 percent of Californians were white was 1977, the year that Jimmy Carter became President of the United States, Apple Computer was incorporated and the original “Star Wars” movie was released. Demographically speaking, California prosecutors are stuck in the ’70s,” the study notes.
Under L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, there are more female prosecutors and more female supervisors than the statewide average.
Women make up 48 percent of California prosecutors and 41 percent of supervising prosecutors. In Los Angeles County, 52 percent of the prosecutors are women, and 48 percent of supervisors are women.
Blacks and Asians were found to be evenly represented among prosecutors relative to their representation in the general population.
Whites make up 77 percent of law school graduates, with 6 percent of the graduates being Latino, according to the study.
Research students with Stanford Criminal Justice Center say this is the first time race and gender data have been collected on prosecutors statewide. The statistics include 52 of 58 counties with more than 98 percent of the state’s population.
“One in three black males and one in six Latino males are predicted to serve time in prison at some point in their lives. For white males, the odds are one in eighteen,” the study noted under the heading “Why Diversity Matters.”
A copy of “Stuck in the ’70s: The Demographics of California Prosecutors” can be found online at www.law.stanford.edu.
— City News Service