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One of Massachusetts' top judges denounced the state's sentencing laws Monday, saying that the mandatory two-year sentence for drug possession near schools discriminates against minorities, does not deter crime and decreases faith in the judicial system. Robert A. Mulligan, who became the chief justice for administration and management in October 2003, said that 90 percent of the people who receive the mandatory sentences for possessing drugs within 1,000 feet of the school are minorities. ''I'm not saying that minorities are being targeted, and I'm not saying that the arresting officers are unfair, but I'm saying that the policy itself is not wise,'' Mulligan told the Associated Press. ''The policy has a discriminatory effect.'' The 1989 law, passed at the urging of then-Gov. Michael Dukakis, has had the greatest impact in urban settings, Mulligan said, because there are few areas in any Massachusetts cities that are not within 1,000 feet of a school. In Boston, Mulligan said, ''unless you're on the tarmac of Logan Airport, you're within 1,000 feet of a school.'' ''The purpose behind school zones is to keep drugs away from schools and that's a legitimate purpose,'' Mulligan said. ''But school doesn't have to be in session, it can be at night, it can be during the summer. So it doesn't really achieve its goals.'' [more]