Samuel Newton shared his own anecdotes on cases of racial discrimination he has witnessed in the American criminal justice system in a webinar Wednesday.
As the third event in the Office of Multicultural Affairs’ Black Lives Matter Speaker Series, Newton spoke from his experience as a criminal defense attorney. Newton has worked for prosecuting and public defender organizations.
Cisco Cross, a Black man wearing gold chains, began recording after a police officer pulled him over in a rental car. The cop used racial slurs to address Cross and claimed to have pulled him over because his car lights weren’t working. The officer eventually searched the car and found drugs.
When the rental company later had the car checked, they found no issues with the lights.
Newton believed his client, Cross, was racially profiled and pulled over based on his appearance. Despite a recording of the officer using racial slurs, the judge did not agree.
“It tends to be easier to overlook and apprehend people of color,” Newton said.
Black people have a disproportionate presence in the criminal justice system and are twice as likely as white people to be pulled over, according to Newton. Black drivers are also about four times more likely to be searched after a stop.
“I had an officer who every Black client he pulled over, their video disappeared,” Newton said.
The officer in this scenario was fired, which Newton attributed to their explicit racism. What Newton found more concerning were subtle cases of racism.
“The unwillingness to look and see,” Newton said. “That’s the biggest danger.”
Newton discussed statistics of the criminal justice system. According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), African Americans are incarcerated at five times the rate of white people.
“This has been fueled by Black lives,” Newton said.
In the case of Victor Rios, who faced police brutality at the age of 14, Newton explained how having a lack of support forces juveniles into the criminal justice system, which is difficult to escape. It wasn’t until later in life, when an officer sat down and talked to Rios about his past, that Rios was able to get help and move away from crime.
“One (officer) treated him like a human,” Newton said. “And that made all the difference.”
Even with his experience facing racism in the criminal justice system, Newton admitted he used to be unaware of the struggles of minorities.
“It wasn’t until I stood on the other side and was willing to listen,” Newton said. “It’s important to have non-threatening conversations as white people.”
Despite facing the racial biases of America’s justice system throughout the webinar, Newton believed things could change with the current movement.
“It’s time, I think, to rally together,” Newton said. “As a young college student, I would say, keep hoping, keep trying.”
Haadiya Tariq can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @haadiyatariq