cracker-barrel Senator from North Carolina who was running the Watergate hearings, paused in his questioning to give us a history lesson. He quoted William Pitt, the British parliamentarian, speaking on behalf of the American Colonials at a time when their doors were being broken down by the King’s soldiers. The King felt he could set aside English law in the Colonies because so many Americans were engaged in smuggling, and the best way to catch a smuggler is to take him by surprise. Senator Sam, his rolling corn-pone accent barely concealing his rage, reminded us of our heritage.

"The poorest man may, in his cottage, bid defiance to all the forces of the crown.  It may be frail—its roof may shake—the wind may blow through it—the storms may enter—the rain may enter—but the King of England cannot enter. All his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!"^[13] 

It may be hard for the current generation to imagine, but in the fall of 1973 kids went back to college wearing T-shirts that displayed the picture of a U.S. Senator, and the Constitution, with inexorable certainty, functioned exactly as its authors said it would.

Unfortunately a price has to be paid to support these principals and it’s a price we’re not always willing to pay. In the drug war in particular, we have discovered what King George understood so clearly in the 1770s: It’s practically impossible to catch buyers and sellers of contraband if you stick to the rules. The illegal transfer of goods between two people who are in agreement is a tough act to interrupt. With a murder, the victim’s family demands justice; with a robbery, the victims themselves demand justice; the rapist, the embezzler, the con artist, all have people chasing them. But when somebody buys contraband from a willing seller, there’s nobody to call the cops.

Likewise with six black teenagers walking west on Foster in the middle of the night. The only way you can really find out if they’re dealing drugs is to throw them up against the wall and go through their pockets. This happens to be a blatant violation of their constitutional rights (try to imagine this happening to a