Later, during a 40-minute videotaped confession, the driver admitted to being a professional drug courier. This had been her 20th trip. Every child knows what it means to be caught red-handed, but not every judge does. It was prudent. The uproar was instant and predictable.
Crime is on everyone's mind, especially in an election year.
The Republicans instantly viewed Baer, who was appointed by Bill Clinton two years ago, as a good candidate for infamy. In the skilled hands of the G.O.P.'s attack dogs, Baer would become this year's Willie Horton, the killer whose parole came back to haunt Michael Dukakis in 1988. But it was a potentially devastating one, as the White House knew. Clinton dispatched press secretary Michael McCurry to suggest that Judge Baer resign if he didn't reverse his ruling. We'll never know how the game would have ended.