A publication of the Justice Center	Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center

"A Sociolinguistic Mismatch: Central Alaskan Yup'iks and the Legal System"
by Phyllis Morrow

Legal professionals working in the Central Alaskan Yup'ik (Eskimo) region of southwest Alaska commonly observe relatively high rates of confession and guilty pleas among Yup'ik clients. This article describes data from 1991 field research in Bethel, Alaska which reveal significant differences between prevailing legal and Yup'ik sociolinguistic norms that appear to contribute to this pattern, and recommends measures to alleviate problems of miscommunication which may result in unequal justice. A shorter version of this article was published as "The Language of Justice: Central Alaskan Yup'iks and the Legal System" in Criminal Justice 9(2), Summer 1994 [American Bar Association, Section of Criminal Justice].

"Jail Inmates in 1992 (A BJS Report)"
by the Bureau of Justice Statistics

Describes findings from the 1992 Annual Survey of Jails, which reported data from 1,113 jails in 795 jurisdictions. An estimated 444,584 inmates were held in local jails throughout the country on June 30, 1993 -- a 4.2% increase over 1991 figures. Also reports on large jurisdictions with jail facilities under court orders or consent decrees regarding population reductions or other confinement conditions and on special jail programs and alternatives to incarceration.