US weighs bending rules to toughen up on crime

The White House is considering escalating the war on crime by developing more lenient evidence rules and by permitting the jailing without bail of some suspects before trial, Attorney General William French Smith announced at the annual convention of the American Bar Association.

The presidential Task Force on Violent Crime may recommend reforming laws so that dangerous criminals likely to jump bail will stay in jail pending trial. Another proposal would ease the exclusionary rule preventing prosecutors from using evidence against a suspect which was seized illegally. Both measures are e xpected to meet protests from civil libertarians.