Disorder in the Court

Anthony Camera

Judge John Kane

John Kane celebrates at the old Lafitte's Restaurant prior to his 1967 Peace Corps departure.

Related Content

• Righthaven ruling by Denver judge "stunning rebuke" of copyright troll, attorney says
  September 29, 2011
• Reader: Is that the sound of the City of Denver being bitch-slapped in police brutality cases?
  September 30, 2011
• Jason Graber brutality case: David Lane lauds $5,000 daily fine threat over police records
  September 14, 2011
• Police brutality: Denver provides eight years of complaints in James Moore case
  February 17, 2012
• Jason Graber deal won't get Denver Police out of releasing excessive-force files, says David Lane
  September 29, 2011

More About

• John Kane
• Irving Andrews
• Michael James Bresnahan
• Law
• Illegal Drugs

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

For Kane, the mandatory minimum sentences judges are now required to impose in drug cases smack of McCarthyism. Instead of the Red Menace, the new fear is of being seen as "soft on crime." His response is to just say no to such pressure.

"When you eliminate that sense of personal responsibility, it bureaucratizes the process," he says. "For a judge who grew up in the silent generation, the need to conform to some kind of grid is psychologically repugnant."