Researchers and policymakers have long been concerned about the extent to which such sociocultural factors as ethnicity and gender determine access to organizational rewards and constraints within legal systems. Scholars have also wondered whether less formal processes, such as those found in alternative dispute resolution, are especially susceptible to bias. To test these arguments, we studied the impact of disputants' ethnicity and gender on monetary outcomes in 312 adjudicated and 154 mediated small claims civil cases in Bernalillo County (Albuquerque), New Mexico, in 1990–91. Multivariate analysis including case characteristics showed that much of the effect of disputants' ethnicity and gender on outcomes—especially in courtroom hearings—was accounted for by the kinds of cases in which women and minorities were involved. Controlling for case characteristics eliminated ethnic and gender differences in adjudication, but some ethnic differences remained in mediated case outcomes. Specifically, cases including at least one Anglo mediator resulted in higher monetary outcomes for Anglo claimants, and minority female claimants received lower monetary outcomes in mediated cases in which both mediators were women.