Judge And Jury

One of the chief arguments for Roman Polanski in his otherwise not-very-defensible case is that his victim -- the girl he allegedly drugged, raped and sodomized when she was 13 in 1977 -- doesn't seem to be holding a grudge. Samantha Geimer has said repeatedly that she doesn't want Polanski prosecuted. She went so far as to file a statement in the state 2nd District Court of Appeal last week asking that the case be dismissed, arguing that as a crime victim she has a right to "finality" under the California Constitution.

One of the chief arguments for Roman Polanski in his otherwise not-very-defensible case is that his victim -- the girl he allegedly drugged, raped and sodomized when she was 13 in 1977 -- doesn't seem to be holding a grudge. Samantha Geimer has said repeatedly that she doesn't want Polanski prosecuted. She went so far as to file a statement in the state 2nd District Court of Appeal last week asking that the case be dismissed, arguing that as a crime victim she has a right to "finality" under the California Constitution.

Re "New Model in Capital Crime Cases," editorial, Jan. 29: The model California should be following in death row punishments is that of Texas, not as you advocate, Illinois. Let's reduce the more than 500 inmates on death row by executing them. They committed their crimes, were found guilty by a jury, sentenced by a judge and jury to death, now let's get on with it. TODD SANDS Camarillo

Gerard Butler narrowly escaped being a lawyer twice over. Before he began his acting career in earnest, Butler spent years studying to be a lawyer in his native Scotland and landed a job as a civil solicitor that lasted long enough to convince him he had no passion for the profession. Devoting less time to his apprenticeship than to the drink he has since sworn off, he was fired before he had a chance to practice and moved to London the next day, where he landed the part of Renton in the stage version of "Trainspotting."

Let me get this straight: Mother of child has a court order granting custody; father of child (never married to mother) abducts child to California; mother (legal custodian) regains child; father sues Police Department; jury gives father $3.5 million. Would the judge and jury in this case (July 21) be interested in some prime oceanfront property? It has a few drainage problems, but I'm sure that won't bother them. I also have this bridge for sale. . . . DARREL E. INGERS Huntington Beach

Many years ago when I was in grade school, I was taught the difference between a free society and an oppressed society. One of the examples usually given was that in a free society, there is no cruel and unjust punishment. But the textbook example is that you are innocent until proven guilty by a jury of your peers. However, the recent actions taken by the Santa Ana Police Department have twisted these fundamental principles. Where else in the free world does the police department, without due process, confiscate and sell your property (in this case your car)

Re "Bennett Tells Gingrich to 'Change Course,' " Feb. 6: William Bennett supported Speaker Newt Gingrich in breaking tax codes and lying to Congress but thinks he should "step down" if he cannot stomach the term "race-hustling poverty pimp" applied to Jesse Jackson and other black leaders? No wonder our mass culture has drifted so far from traditional ethics and standards of conduct. Sports figures aren't the only role models. The lack of statesmanship displayed by Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A social scientist to realize that racially diverse juries might engage in more give-and-take than homogeneous ones. Still, it's reassuring to learn that a study by a psychologist has concluded that multiracial juries are more deliberative than all-white panels. The study by professor Samuel R. Sommers of Tufts University should give impetus to a lonely campaign by a member of the U.S.

Gerard Butler narrowly escaped being a lawyer twice over. Before he began his acting career in earnest, Butler spent years studying to be a lawyer in his native Scotland and landed a job as a civil solicitor that lasted long enough to convince him he had no passion for the profession. Devoting less time to his apprenticeship than to the drink he has since sworn off, he was fired before he had a chance to practice and moved to London the next day, where he landed the part of Renton in the stage version of "Trainspotting."

BALTIMORE — In the midst of the greatest time of his professional life, horse trainer Doug O'Neill is being followed around by an asterisk. Reporters want to know about his Kentucky Derby-winning horse, I'll Have Another. They want to know about O'Neill himself — how he got started, who he is, what he thinks about any number of topics. They want to know about young jockey Mario Gutierrez, who should have been way too green to ride the kind of race he did at Churchill Downs. They want to know about owner J. Paul Reddam, who made his money in the loan business and who named the horse by reprising a scene at home, where he sits on the couch, eats a cookie and requests another one from his wife.

O.J. Simpson's lawyers cited judicial errors and insufficient evidence Friday in seeking a new trial for the former football star, who was convicted of kidnapping and robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a casino hotel room. "Simpson should be granted a new trial," attorney Gabriel Grasso wrote in a motion faulting Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass' decisions during jury selection, her limitations on cross-examination of witnesses during trial and her instructions to jurors before deliberations.

Before he was sentenced to death Wednesday, Ivan J. Hill's lawyers made their final arguments to spare his life. Then the families of the six women he raped and strangled got their first chance to tell him where they thought he belonged. Essentially, they agreed with Mary Brooks, the mother of one of the victims, who spoke first. "You should go to hell," Brooks said, as others in the courtroom murmured in agreement. Brooks looked straight at Hill, who sat silently in an orange jail suit.

The worldwide sports anti-doping program, created to fight performanceenhancing drug use in international athletics, imposes severe punishments for accidental or technical infractions, relies at times on disputed scientific evidence and resists outside scrutiny, a Times investigation has found.

This is as close to a courtroom as Daniel Donohue can hope to get: a nondescript room in a church office building, where three priests on Friday carried out a legal procedure that dates to the 12th century. The experience was at once ordinary and archaic. A tape recorder sat next to him, beeping occasionally. Behind him sat the "promoter of justice," the New York Archdiocese's equivalent of a district attorney. When Donohue walked in, he was asked to sign an oath not to discuss the case again.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A social scientist to realize that racially diverse juries might engage in more give-and-take than homogeneous ones. Still, it's reassuring to learn that a study by a psychologist has concluded that multiracial juries are more deliberative than all-white panels. The study by professor Samuel R. Sommers of Tufts University should give impetus to a lonely campaign by a member of the U.S.

In a long-awaited test of executive power, the Supreme Court today will take up a constitutional challenge to President Bush's decision to try alleged war criminals before specially arranged military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It is an authority the president's lawyers say is part of his power as commander in chief.

A high-profile murder proceeding ended in an uproar Friday after a judge issued a surprise ruling that his own jury instructions were inadequate and that the defendant--charged with killing a teenager over a stolen Halloween pumpkin display--deserves a new trial. The decision in the case of Buena Park homeowner Peter Solomona prompted an angry exchange between the families of the suspect and the victim, Brandon Ketsdever, who was 17.

A 28-year-old defendant in a double slaying in Anaheim escaped a possible death sentence Tuesday but was still furious over the murder conviction handed down against him, shouting at both the judge and the jurors before being removed from the courtroom. A Superior Court jury found John R. Jordan Jr. of Riverside guilty of murder but split on further allegations that would have sent his case into a death-penalty sentencing phase.

An Orange County judge has ruled that a $1.7-million jury award in a job retaliation case won by the former director of the county's Office on Aging was excessive, the county's attorney said Monday. Superior Court Judge W. Michael Hayes granted the county's motion for a new trial on the damages portion after Pamela Mokler rejected the judge's offer of a $125,000 award. In April, a jury awarded the former director the $1.

Seated in the witness stand, the judge in Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial Wednesday somberly read the jury some 98 pages of legal instructions that are to guide them as they determine the pop star's future. Jackson sat motionless, staring at the jury, as Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville recited dense legal language for more than 90 minutes. Jackson's parents, and brothers Tito and Randy, looked on from the gallery.