ONLINE: Racial Discrepancies in Sentencing and Representation

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WPR/J. Gill

Joy Cardin, longtime Wisconsin Public Radio host.

press release: The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin will host the last webinar in the Fair Courts series featuring a discussion on racial disparities in both sentencing as well as representation on the bench and in our law schools. Retired WPR host and League member Joy Cardin will moderate the panel discussion. Audience members will have a chance to ask questions at the end.

Why: Wisconsin has some of the most severe disparities in imprisonment rates between Black and white people. One of every 36 Black Wisconsinites is in prison, according to the Sentencing Project. Additionally, Wisconsin’s state-level judiciary is one of the whitest in the whole country, according to the Gavel Gap Report. We will assess these two topics, look at the causes, impacts and potential solutions. 

Who: 

Jerome Dillard is the EXPO Statewide Director. He has a long history of working with and for system-impacted people. Based on his own experiences with incarceration, he sees prison as a form of genocide that drains people of hope for their future. Through EXPO, he seeks to restore that hope by advocating for change in the system that structurally discriminates against so many people and their families. His purpose is to ensure that system-impacted people are treated with dignity and respect and that they receive the resources and support they need to thrive in their communities upon release.

Pamela Oliver is professor emerita of sociology at the University of Wisconsin who has published many articles and a book on collective action and social movements. Since 1999, she has devoted much of her time to analyzing and speaking about statistical patterns of racial disparity in criminal justice in Wisconsin and the nation. She has made over 100 public presentations on these issues and served on the Governor's Commission to Reduce Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice in 2007-8 and the Dane County Task Force on Racial Disparities 2008-2009. She has written several papers and blog posts about patterns of incarceration over time in the US and Wisconsin that can be accessed through her blog. 

Ali Mahmood is a third-year law student at Marquette Law school. He is originally from a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. During his time at Marquette, Ali was very involved in many student organizations. He was the President of the American Constitution Society, the Co-president and co-founder of the Muslim Law Students Association, and the Secretary of the Asian law students association. After graduation, Ali Is planning on practicing criminal law in Sheboygan as a Public Defender.

Wendy Hoang is a third-year law student at Marquette University. Throughout her time at Marquette, Wendy has been in numerous student organizations, including the Marquette Immigration Law Association, the Muslim Law Students Association, and serving as the treasurer for the Asian Law Student Association during her second year. She has also been involved in pro bono opportunities, serving as a student volunteer in the Eviction Defense Project, the Domestic Violence Injunction Project, and the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic. Wendy currently works at the Wisconsin Realtors Association.