JUDGE QUESTIONS POLICE METHODS, EFFECTIVENESS OF DRUG WAR

It was a routine misdemeanor possession-of-marijuana case. But County
Court Judge Barry Cohen rendered anything but a routine verdict last
week, questioning whether the national war on drugs is effective, and
whether investigating minor motor vehicle violations is a good use of
officers assigned to the Palm Beach County Violent Crimes Task Force.

The judge, in his written not-guilty verdict, also raised the question
of whether the drug war has led to an increasing perception among
blacks that they can be stopped in their vehicles for merely "driving
while black." The case involved a longtime Palm Beach International
Airport skycap in whose car marijuana was found when he was stopped
for a minor equipment violation.

"My written verdict was intended only to stimulate a civilized
dialogue as to the collateral consequences of the War on Drugs," Cohen
said by e-mail.

He succeeded. State Attorney Barry Krischer wrote a lengthy e-mail
response to Cohen's order, saying he was "bewildered" by it.

Krischer noted that the multi-agency task force, revived more than a
year ago, is engaged in a battle against street gangs that kill to
protect their drug trade. "Any effort to make the gang members more
afraid of law enforcement than killing each other and innocent
bystanders will by necessity be aggressive," he wrote to Cohen.

Since law enforcement officers began late-night and early-morning
street patrols, "the level of gun violence in our county has dropped
markedly," Krischer wrote to Cohen.

What prompted the exchange was the non-jury misdemeanor trial of
Bertram Williams, 37, of West Palm Beach on April 19.

Williams was stopped around 1 a.m. by two sheriff's deputies, who
Cohen said were assigned to the violent crimes task force, as Williams
drove a 1993 Plymouth on Australian Avenue in January. The ostensible
reason: The tag light on his car wasn't working.

But the deputies frisked Williams for weapons, and finding none, got
his consent to search his car. They found 38 marijuana butts and 2.7
grams of pot in the car.

Williams testified at trial that he doesn't smoke, drink or do drugs.
"The court believes it is reasonable to believe the marijuana butts
belonged to and had been smoked by defendant's brother, who routinely
drove the vehicle," Cohen wrote in his verdict.

He also pointedly noted that pot continues to account for a
significant piece of the drug war, while a 1997 survey reported that
71 million Americans had used marijuana at least once in their lives.
He added that "it was former Attorney General John Ashcroft in the
post-911 era who proudly announced the success of 'Operation Pipe
Dream,' a nationwide roundup of bong and roach clip
manufacturers."

Cohen said he's concerned about the threat of drugs to society,
especially children. He's just not convinced the current methods of
combating them are the answer.

The judge called the deputies in the Williams case well-intentioned.
"However, the spectacle of two members of the Violent Crimes Task
Force investigating a tag light violation warrants some scrutiny by
our citizenry," he wrote.

In fact, the deputies more likely were part of Operation Gangbusters,
another multi-agency group of about 80 officers that was formed in
January and works in sync with the task force, sheriff's spokesman
Paul Miller said.

While the traffic stop of Williams was legal, "this judge, for 16
years, in his courtroom has been haunted by the image of
African-American motorists being detained by police officers for minor
equipment violations," Cohen wrote. While most law enforcement
officers are color-blind on the job, "increasing numbers of African
Americans have come to believe that 'Driving While Black' is an
offense for which they can be stopped," he wrote. Bertram Williams is
black.

"People have been stopped from all different types of backgrounds,"
Miller said. "We don't do any racial profiles."

Krischer didn't address the race issue, but wrote: "In order to get
the guns and drugs off the street, law enforcement must aggressively
enforce the traffic laws during the early morning hours when these
shootings occur."

Miller agreed, although he had no data on gang-related arrests made or
weapons seized specifically as a result of traffic stops. He said that
other than a gang-related triple homicide in Lake Worth, gang violence
has diminished.

"It's been tremendously successful," Miller said. "They've been making
arrests, finding drugs, guns. We've taken a lot of weapons off the
street. The gang members realize we're out there. It sends a strong
message to the people we want to get a message to."

Cohen is a veteran of 16 years on the bench who has spoken out before.
He wrote a commentary in The Palm Beach Post in December 2005 decrying
bigotry and intolerance.

In the most recent poll of local lawyers, Cohen received the highest
marks of any county court judge in knowledge of the law and diligence.

He said in an e-mail that "none of us should believe there is a clear
and simple solution to these problems or that tension. If there was,
both the state attorney and I would already be unemployed, and there
would be no necessity for this dialogue."