Judge Reverses Drug Case Ruling

I was horrified and disappointed to see that U.S. District Judge Harold Baer Jr. caved in under political pressure and reversed his original (correct) ruling that there was no probable cause for police to search a car simply because men ran away from it (April 2). If there was any probable cause involved, the men had probable cause to run in the light of frequent police corruption in that area. The Constitution is plain on the issue and Baer was simply upholding it as it was written.

It should not surprise anybody that the Clinton administration and Republican presidential front-runner Bob Dole would condemn Baer’s original (legally and morally correct but politically incorrect) ruling, as none of them cares at all about the supreme law of the land or individual rights. What surprised me was not so much that the politicians twisted Baer’s arm, but more that Baer caved in and reversed his ruling. If he cannot be more objective than that, he ought to step down. But most people see it the other way.

And now, I see where another federal judge has ruled that there is no racial bias in crack cocaine prosecutions (April 2). Statistics prove the bias. Can’t people see that the emperor wears no clothes? You have to wonder if the political establishment is paying off the judiciary. Because of the “war on drugs,” which has not reduced drug use one iota, our Constitution is being trashed and our country is falling apart.

ALICE LILLIE

Los Angeles