ABSTRACT
The elimination of race as a consideration in arrest, prosecution, and sentencing is an important objective in modern campaigns for criminal justice refonn. This commitment rests on basic principles about which there is social consensus. When the government discriminates by race, it undermines fundamental commitments to fairness and equality for all citizens and erodes public confidence in the rule of law. Racism by government officials acting with or without legal authority offends ideas of individual liberty and limited, evenhanded government.
