Ann Coulter

Hate-crimes laws are the wrong approach to reducing violence because they are applied to inconsistently, Ann Coulter contends in the following viewpoint. She cites cases in which the murders committed by African American assailants against white victims were ruled hate crimes, whereas the racist beliefs of whites who killed African Americans were not considered. She argues that the effect of these laws is to elevate some victims above others, even if the crimes are equally violent. Coulter also notes that hate-crimes laws are troubling because they probe a defendant’s thoughts and beliefs. Coulter is a syndicated columnist.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Coulter, what was the Supreme Court’s reasoning for ignoring the defendant’s membership in the Aryan Brotherhood in the case Dawson v. Delaware?
2. What is...