Customary Procedures

June, 1980

Here's a scene straight out of Kafka, described by international attorney Michael Lacher: A returning traveler arrives at the customs desk of an unnamed country and is asked to accompany the customs official to a private room. There the traveler is asked to disrobe and, when he asks why, the official declines to explain. Not a little mystified (and even more frightened), the traveler asks to speak with his lawyer but is denied permission. Feeling deeply wronged, he refuses to remove his clothes,...