Preface to the Special Issue: Discourse, Race and the State

addresses the construction of racialized justice as a social and discursive process. Since its first appearance in criminological thinking 20 years ago, critical race theory has grown in significance. Originally part of Critical Legal Studies (CLS) that questioned law and the courts, critical race theory has grown to become a major challenge to the operation of social control and questions the legitimacy of dominant power structures. Early research drew attention to judicial outcomes--- in particular, sentencing disparities--- that appeared to indicate that race was a factor in explaining different treatment between blacks and whites. Other work went beyond reporting differences to advocating political action. Important, too, has been the ways in which a racialized criminal justice system, based on stereotypes of offenders, immigrants and criminal justice practitioners, contributes to the ongoing production