An examination of the initial police contact considers how police decisions to initiate contact with a citizen may be based on factors related to the citizen's gender, ethnicity, or race; for example, the police use of a "drug courier profile" that reflects racial bias is inappropriate. Recent judicial decisions that uphold traditional consent searches create another set of issues regarding whether the evolving case law reflects reality. "Consent" searches connected with interstate bus transportation and police attempts to stop drug trafficking on buses disproportionately involves minority citizens since they use buses frequently. In many urban communities, police officers often use observation posts and roadblocks as crime and traffic control methods. The issue that must be addressed is whether these law enforcement techniques are applied in a manner that targets minorities or results in an unintentional adverse impact on minorities. Regarding prosecutorial action, prosecutors have an affirmative duty to ensure that racial and national-origin bias, as well as gender bias do not affect their charging plea bargaining decisions. There has been a recent emphasis on race and national-origin bias in the selection and composition of juries and the use of peremptory challenges. Regarding the discriminatory effects in sentencing, the rigidity of mandatory sentencing statutes and guides are viewed by many as having a disparate discriminatory impact on minority criminal offenders. 96 footnotes