What is the Bar Associations stance on the Rockefeller drug laws?
We feel it’s time to revise those laws. They have not worked as expected. We do not believe there is evidence to show they’ve had any effect on reducing drug related crime or drug use. We think a more productive use of tax money is to focus on treating drug addiction, and try to divert drug addicts away from the criminal system and into treatment. That was one thing we were disappointed did not happen this year. Last year we got very close but this year we hoped to achieve our goal and we’re disappointed. Do the laws unfairly target minorities? I don’t know if they are doing that by design. I think the effect is that you have more minorities who are caught up in the sentences of the Rockefeller Drug Laws. I have no evidence that there are selective arrests or selective prosecution, but a disproportionate number [of arrests] are minorities. In the midst of the war on terror, how do we balance civil liberties with our national security? Because of the heightened terrorism alert that we h
