Because racial bias is proposed as a secondary system of stratification, criminogenic effects of skin color overlay those of race. Thus, the addition of skin color in the race-crime relationship allows researchers to examine the significance of intragroup stratification and intra-and intergroup differences that may exist among both racial minorities and the dominant group. Because criminologists have failed to incorporate skin color measures into their research designs, only assumptions can be made about the role of skin color in crime and criminal justice processing. Using the extent literature as a foundation, future criminological studies examining skin color should be structured along certain lines. First, the research should be historically grounded. Second, because of the social complexities of skin color bias, criminological studies of the phenomenon should use both qualitative and quantitative methods. Third, criminological studies of skin color bias should extend their analysis to include measures of other racial features. Finally, criminological studies of skin color bias should pursue comparative lines of inquiry. Structural and sociopsychological effects of skin color are discussed. 59 references, 11 notes, and 1 figure