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47 Law & Hum. Behav. 1 (2023)

handle is hein.journals/lwhmbv47 and id is 1 raw text is: I A AMRICAN American _ * PSYCHOLOGICAL Psychology-Law - ' ASSOCIATION Society Law and Human Behavior © 2023 American Psychological Association ISSN: 0147-7307 2023, Vol. 47, No. 1, 1-11 htips://doi.org/10.1037/hb0000526 INTRODUCTION Racial Justice in Psycholegal Research and Forensic Psychology Practice: Current Advances and a Framework for Future Progress Jennifer S. Hunt and Stephane M. Shepherd2 Department of Gender and Women's Studies, University of Kentucky 2 Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology Police killings of Black civilians have brought unprecedented attention to racial and ethnic discrimination in the criminal justice and legal systems. However, these topics have been underexamined in the field of law- psychology, both in research and forensic-clinical practice. We discuss how a racial justice framework can provide guidance for advancing psycholegal research and forensic-clinical practice related to race, ethnicity, culture, and their intersections. A racial justice framework centers the goal of increasing fair and responsive treatment and just outcomes for the most vulnerable populations involved with the criminal justice, legal, and carceral systems and ending existing disparities. We argue that the framework should include the use of transparent nonobjectivity, in which racial justice is an explicit and acknowledged goal of research and practice that exists alongside a commitment to open and rigorous science and evidence-based practice. We then use the racial justice framework as a backdrop for discussing the articles and broader themes that appear in the special issue, which include racial biases in policing, public views of the police and use of force, expanding research on racial bias in lay judgments, understanding disparities in sentencing and corrections, and improving forensic practice. Finally, we look to the future, discussing practices and perspectives that can facilitate a racial justice approach in psycholegal research and forensic-clinical practice. Our recommendations include engaging in reflexivity and addressing positionality; expanding research questions and methods, especially qualitative and community-based participatory action research; centering and engaging with communities of color; greater emphasis on intersectionality; shifting toward structural and adaptive interventions; and greater integration of work from other fields. Public Significance Statement Law-psychology research and forensic-clinical practice involving Black, Indigenous, and other people of color in the criminal justice and legal systems should be guided by a racial justice framework that emphasizes increasing fair treatment, racial and cultural responsiveness, and just outcomes, especially for the most vulnerable populations. The special issue on Racial Justice in the Criminal Justice and Legal Systems showcases innovative research and clinical perspectives that advance theoretical frameworks, inform potential interventions, and illustrate the benefits of a racial justice framework. Keywords: racial justice, criminal justice, legal decisions, forensic psychology, methodology In 2020, the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer sparked unprecedented levels of concern about racial and ethnic dis- parities in the criminal justice system. Millions of people in the United States participated in Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, making BLM likely to be the largest movement in U.S. history (Buchanan et al., 2020). Similar protests occurred in many nations throughout the world. As noted by Lynsey Chutel, a journalist in South Africa, There is a George Floyd in every country (Westerman et al., 2020, para. 2). Indeed, racial and ethnic disparities are rampant in many nations' criminal justice, legal, and carceral systems. Across the world, racial Editor's Note. This is an introduction to the special issue Racial Justice in the Criminal Justice and Legal Systems. Please see the Table of Contents here: http://psycnet.apa.org/joumals/thb/47/1/.-BDM Jennifer S. Hunt https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7591-4208 Stephane M. Shepherd https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3078-9407 The authors sincerely thank the other members of the 2021-2022 Law and Human Behavior editorial team, Brad McAuliff, Jenni Cox, Dave DeMatteo, Lora Levett, and Kyle Scherr, and copy editor Brian Winters. Without their support and assistance, this special issue would not have been possible. They also thank Antoinette Kavanaugh, Apryl Alexander, Natalie Anumba, Christine Riggs Romaine, and Amanda Zelechoski for discussions that helped shape some of the ideas discussed in this article. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jennifer S. Hunt, Department of Gender and Women's Studies, University of Kentucky, 112 Breckinridge Hall 0056, Lexington, KY 40506-0027, United States. Email: jenn.hunt@uky.edu

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