University of Virginia Library

Justice: American Style

In a case of what Arlo Guthrie might call
"typical American blind justice," a University
student was convicted of an offense that is so
absurd to consider in this town, that it is
almost unbelievable. Considering the number
of students who are guilty every big weekend
of drinking in public, the case becomes even
more absurd.

What is frightening about the case is the
possibility that it is not an isolated incident.
As far as we can see, the student who was
apprehended was singled out of a group,
solely because he had long hair. This case may
not just be a harmless comedy. It may be the
beginning of a repressive trend by the town
against students who have long hair or look
freaky.

The fact that one long-haired student was
singled out for arrest is indicative of some sort
of discrimination. What is worse is that he was
convicted solely on the testimony of the
officer who witnessed the crime and who
admitted that he had no evidence of what was
in the bottle that was drunk from. Also, the
officer admitted that he had not advised the
defendant of his legal and constitutional rights.
His admission was pronounced with the
attitude that suggested that he hadn't even
thought of it.

The municipal judge who presided at the
hearing was Alan Spitzer, a man of whom we
have heard nothing good. Persons we have
talked to who have been before Judge Spitzer
have said that he discriminates against young
people in general, and others have stated that
in court he refers to white people as "mister"
or "misses," while he refers to blacks by their
first names. This would suggest something
sinister about his legal philosophy if he has
any.

As attorney F. Lee Bailey said when he
spoke here last month, "the law is not what
the books say it is, but what the judge says it
is."

Judge Spitzer, it seems, has laid down the
law: no drinking in public. Imagine the
hundreds of students who will walk down
Rugby Road this weekend with drinks in their
hands. If the police wish to be conscientious
they could haul in enough law-breakers at
$17.25 a head to lower taxes in this town.

If this case is the first sign of a repressive
trend in this town we think now is the time to
stop it, before it gets out of hand. The
townspeople blame a lot of things on the
University community and before they start
taking it out on the students, we hope they sit
down and reason out the situation.

We hope we are wrong and that this case is
just a freak. We hope that the judge's decision
was made solely to keep the police department
from losing face in this comedy of
errors.

The Chicago Seven and Julius Hoffman
seem a long way off. But they have to start
somewhere.