Legal Scholarship
Kerry L. Shipman, MPA, J.D.
Southern Journal of Policy and Justice, Vol. 13 (2019), pp. 75–92
The article argues that the conventional reasonable-person standard can obscure meaningful differences in how Black and white Americans experience law enforcement and the criminal justice system. It proposes that courts take seriously the social experience of race when evaluating whether conduct is “reasonable,” rather than assuming a supposedly neutral perspective that may reproduce dominant cultural expectations.
Published before Dr. Shipman’s service as a North Carolina magistrate and later doctoral work, the article sits at the foundation of a broader body of work examining how law, race, lived experience and institutional decision-making intersect.
Research Impact
In 2025, an amicus curiae brief filed in State v. Stetzer cited Shipman’s article while arguing that “reasonable person” standards should account for the perspectives and experiences of people of color in interactions with law enforcement.
Shipman, Kerry L. “The Reasonable Black Person Standard in Criminal Law: Impartiality, Justice and the Social Sciences.” Southern Journal of Policy and Justice, vol. 13, 2019, pp. 75–92.
