Case-Insensitive Queries in Derby???

I am new to Derby (Cloudscape), coming from SQL Server, and I am having trouble with case sensitivity on queries. A query such as Select * From Customers Where Customer = 'FRED' is different than Select * From Customers Where Customer = 'fred'. I know I can use the lower() function to get the proper results, but it is too slow on a large table. Is there a way to set something globally that makes all queries case-insensitive? You help is much appreciated.

Hi
there is no such feature in derby until 10.2.x .
Maybe you could open some RFE in JIRA, Derby team will address importatnt issues in each release.

Thanks for your reply. I will try to post a feature request with them. It is certainly needed.