In the United States, the discriminatory disposition of the HIV virus and AIDS diagnosis that follows seropositive test results is obvious; gay and bisexual men and black and Hispanic persons, both male and female, constitute the overwhelming majority of persons who have died or are living with AIDS. The significance of the pervasive environment of fear and hostility toward people with AIDS cannot be overstated. AIDS serves the dichotomous function of accentuating and reinforcing extant prejudices. The reaction to AIDS emphasizes blaming victims rather than finding causes. Two crucial inquiries about the legal system relative to AIDS are the extent to which AIDS magnifies weaknesses in the system and enables biased rules and decisions and the extent to which AIDS discourages biased rules and exposes discrimination in the system. The legal system has had frequent contact with the effects of AIDS and has succeeded in being most fair and balanced in cases where the presence of public fear and hostility toward those affected by the HIV virus has been most openly recognized. Federal legislative and executive responses to AIDS during 1987 and 1988 are reviewed along with selected judicial decisions about AIDS. 85 footnotes