UNEQUAL JUSTICE UNDER THE LAW

There's something important that shouldn't be overlooked about the
civil unrest that erupted in Miami when federal officials removed
Elian Gonzalez from his Miami relatives' home. What we saw could be
just the beginning of a widening revolt against government authority.
The unequal enforcement of America's laws and policies has bred a
growing disrespect for the rule of law. In too many instances--whether
we are talking about the prosecution of drug traffickers or treatment
of illegal immigrants--there seem to be two sets of rules: One set
applies when it comes to the affluent or those who have clout, and
another when poor folks are involved. Although I support U.S. Attorney
Janet Reno's decision to take Elian by force, I admire the spirit of
the Cuban Americans who kept up a daily protest against the U.S.
government over this issue. The fact is, if you are poor and without
influence in America, you are likely to feel the full brunt of
government policies while others do not. Even immigrants who fled the
oppressive regime of Cuba's Fidel Castro understand this about
America. But our topic is not about one little boy. It is about what
happens to the tens of thousands of little boys and girls who were
unlucky enough to be born to low-income mothers addicted to illegal
substances compared with little boys and girls who are lucky enough to
be born to affluent mothers addicted to illegal drugs. In most
instances, the children of low-income drug users are churned into the
child welfare system while affluent mothers are allowed to bundle up
their children and take them home. This happens because many hospitals
in affluent areas refuse to test--and therefore don't report--mothers
and babies for the presence of illegal substances. In fact, Illinois
law does not require hospitals to test infants for these drugs.

Instead, the state depends on self-reporting under the Abuse and
Neglect Child Reporting Act. If a hospital finds that an infant has a
positive toxicology, it is required to report it. Not reporting a
positive finding is a Class A misdemeanor, which brings only a slap on
the wrist. As a result, the state's child welfare system is flooded
with black children who were removed from their mothers at birth.

This situation gives the impression that black women are
disproportionately using drugs and abusing their unborn babies. "Not
only do more Caucasians use cocaine, more Caucasians use crack," said
Eric Sterling of the Washington-based Criminal Justice Policy
Foundation. "Too often commentators and politicians have made the
absurd statement that blacks are more likely to use crack cocaine.

Three times as many whites use crack cocaine as blacks." Data compiled
by the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, released in June 1998
for the year 1997, bear this out: For example, in the age group 18-25:
white cocaine use in the last 30 days was 1.2 percent of 18.6 million;
for black users it was 0.9 percent of 3.8 million. The white rate was
higher by 25 percent. "What is so amazing is that the public is under
the misimpression that blacks are using cocaine in general more than
whites.

This is a completely distorted view," Sterling said. What this means
is that affluent white users are getting away with they same offense
that poor black women are made to pay dearly for when their children
are taken away by the Illinois Department of Children and Family
Services. This same kind of disparity is present in the federal
prosecution of drug offenses. Although approximately two-thirds of
crack users are white or Hispanic, the vast majority of people
convicted of possession in 1994 were African American. I certainly
don't condone pregnant women harming their unborn babies by using
drugs any more than I condone the violent actions of protesters in
Miami. But there is a reason why rebellion against the U.S. government
has spread beyond militia and extremist groups. At some point people
most affected by the disparities stop trusting the government and its
laws.