A furor has been raging at Rutgers Law School when a student in an online discussion quoted a racial slur that was reported in the Supreme Court decision in State v. Bridges, 133 N.J. 447 (1993). The decision quoted the murder defendant as declaring, “I’m going back to Trenton to get my [gang].” He did not use the word “gang” but instead, the familiar racial epithet, which was spelled out in full in the opinion. We do not include the epithet here because it is well understood, and an exact quote would add nothing to the discussion.

From the context, and context is everything in these matters, Bridges meant it not as an insult but to describe the menacing character of the allies he intended to bring back, and thus as evidence of his criminal intent.