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BIAS PROSECUTIONS ARE CONSTITUTIONAL, BUT DIFFICULT

NCJ Number
144301
Journal
Prosecutor Volume: 27 Issue: 3 Dated: (July-August 1993) Pages: 14-16,19
Author(s)
B Levin
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
While the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of most State bias laws, organizations which monitor hate crimes in the U.S. report dramatic increases in bias-related incidents.
Abstract
In Wisconsin v. Mitchell, the Court upheld Wisconsin's hate crime law, which punishes offenders more severely when they intentionally target their victims on the basis of religion, race, or sexual orientation. The decision distinguished protected speech from otherwise criminal conduct, prohibiting States from banning symbols on the basis of what they express, but giving them authority to sanction bias offenders more harshly. In comparison to other crimes, hate crimes are more likely to involve heightened assault and injury level, serial victimizations, multiple assailants, stranger-based attacks, a spiral of community violence, and extreme psychological trauma for victims. Many States have responded to hate crimes by passing legislation and instituting other reforms including executive leadership programs, community bias reduction and outreach projects, victim support, intra-agency procedures, effective training, rehabilitation programs, and nonjudicial alternatives.

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