STUDY THE SYSTEM

Justice is supposed to be blind, but the concept has taken a beating in
Tucson where Hispanic juveniles are disproportionately sent to adult courts
for prosecution. If ever there was an issue that demanded quick action --
this is it.

The easiest, most meaningful approach to solving the problem would be to do
what County Supervisor Raul Grijalva is proposing -- embark on a
comprehensive study to pick apart the system from the very top to the very
bottom.

Such a study should focus on the beginning when a child enters the system
-- the time of arrest through the time he is sent to adult prison. How
youths are treated from the beginning is important.

Grijalva also said employees of the system recognize that more and more
Hispanics are entering the system and have asked for sensitivity training
to help them better process the clientele.

Before anyone scoffs at that idea -- think of this: Just last week we
learned of a supervisor in the system who issued a memo forbidding
employees to speak Spanish unless it was business related. Reminds us of
the days on the school grounds when kids faced a ``paddling'' for speaking
Spanish.

The problem here is not that we know Hispanics are disproportionately
represented in the system. The problem is we don't know why it happens.

And from the top to the bottom of the system, officials insist that they
are color blind. Race and color do not matter, say the presiding Superior
Court judge and the county attorney. Police, too, deny they practice
justice based on race.

We know all those people. Racism does not spring to mind when we think of
this group of people.

But we don't know what sort of contaminants may be creeping into the
system.

One possibility we're left with is that the tougher juvenile crime laws are
inherently racist. If you don't believe that can happen, think of this
well-known example: Laws targeting crack cocaine users are much more
punitive than laws targeting cocaine users. Blacks are the predominant
consumers of crack. It's no wonder then that blacks go to prison for much
longer sentences for using the same basic drug.

Certainly, some underlying injustices are largely to blame for the Hispanic
numbers in the system. The educational and economic underachievement are
easy examples. Our schools cannot keep Hispanics in the classroom with any
degree of consistency. Nationally, the number of Hispanics who have dropped
out of school stands at about 30 percent.

Underemployed and undereducated populations are widely known to produce
disproportionate numbers in the prison populations.

Yet, that does not dismiss or even excuse a destructive social trend. Nor
should it.

County officials are likely to be pressured to conduct a study of the
judicial system from within. They should resist any such pressure and
assign this important matter to an outside organization.

A comprehensive study is more than mere necessity. It's a moral obligation.