RACE CALLED FACTOR IN N.J. DRUG BUSTS

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- After admitting the state's war on drugs unfairly
victimized minority drivers, New Jersey's attorney general may drop drug
charges against hundreds of motorists who claim they were pulled over
because of their race.

The state also could be forced to settle dozens of lawsuits filed by black
and Hispanic state troopers who allege they were forced to practice racial
profiling.

Attorney General John J. Farmer Jr. said his office would review each
pending criminal case in which bias allegedly tainted drug seizures.
Criminal charges could be dropped, he said.

Civil lawsuits also will be examined with an eye toward settlement.

"Where they are reasonable, we're going to settle these cases," Farmer said
yesterday. "We'll certainly look at it a lot more closely based on what
we've discovered."