Here are cites and quotes from the abstracts of some recent articles of interest:

John Wooldredge, Neighborhood Effects on Felony Sentencing, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Vol. 44, No. 2, 238-263 (2007): "Findings revealed that convicted felons from more disadvantaged neighborhoods were more likely to receive nonsuspended prison sentences, whereas a defendant's race was unrelated to imprisonment. By contrast, neighborhood disadvantage was unrelated to sentence length for imprisoned defendants, whereas African Americans received significantly shorter terms relative to Whites."

John Clark, Marcus T. Boccaccini, Beth Caillouet, & William F. Chaplin, Five Factor Model Personality Traits, Jury Selection, and Case Outcomes in Criminal and Civil Cases, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 34, No. 5, 641-660 (2007): "In the 17 juries that deliberated to a verdict (n = 285), high levels of juror extraversion were associated with not guilty verdicts or verdicts for the defendant, especially in criminal cases."

Wayne N. Welsh, Patrick McGrain, Nicole Salamatin, & Gary Zajac, Effects of Prison Drug Treatment On Inmate Misconduct, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 34, No. 5, 600-615 (2007): "The hypothesis that TC treatment alone would significantly reduce misconduct over time was not supported. Instead, changes in misconduct over time interacted with individual characteristics and time served posttreatment."