Self Incrimination

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the government has wrongly denied monthly benefits and free medical care to poor disabled children by imposing stringent, unfair guidelines for eligibility. The ruling could affect tens or even hundreds of thousands of low-income handicapped children denied Social Security benefits over the last 15 years.

"Leniency to those who confess, severity to those who resist." From the political struggles of the Maoist era to the interrogation rooms of police stations today, Chinese are all too familiar with this hallmark policy of their country's legal system. After two decades of watching American TV police dramas, however, Chinese have become familiar with another phrase: "You have the right to remain silent."

Incriminating videotaped and written statements by five teen-agers accused in the 1989 gang rape and near-fatal beating of a jogger in Central Park are admissible as evidence at their trial, a judge ruled Friday. Six teen-agers are accused of being part of a band of roving youths who attacked an investment banker as she jogged through the park on the night of April 19.

Incriminating statements made in a counseling session with a minister are not entitled to special protection and may be used at trial against a defendant, a state Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday. The three-judge panel rejected the claim of a Marin County woman who argued that the revelations she made to an Episcopal priest to whom she had gone for help were a "sacramental confession" that under state law could not be disclosed in court.

Former Lincoln Savings & Loan owner Charles H. Keating Jr., citing the Fifth Amendment, will refuse to testify today when he is called before a House committee to answer allegations that his fraudulent business practices caused the $2.5-billion collapse of the Irvine thrift, according to his lawyer. Attorney John J.

The state Supreme Court on Thursday left intact an appellate ruling that allows police to try again to question criminal suspects who have asserted their constitutional right to silence. The action, taken over the dissents of two justices, marked the second time this year the new, more conservative court has removed restrictions on police interrogations imposed under previous court rulings. In a brief order signed by Chief Justice Malcolm M.

I have followed with interest the letters and editorials on graffiti. In fact, The Times did a story on me and my graffiti-plagued wall. No mention seems ever to be made of the solution. There is a San Fernando Valley company called Graffiti Prevention Systems. Phone: (800) 247-3395. This company completely solved the problem. I hired a painter to paint out all graffiti while their serviceman stood by. The moment the paint dried the serviceman sprayed on a coat of thin invisible wax.

As the first Rampart police corruption trial gets underway today, the star prosecution witness says he won't answer questions about murder allegations made by a former girlfriend unless prosecutors guarantee he is covered by his immunity agreement.

The man accused of slashing the throat of Los Angeles City Council member Ruth Galanter on May 6 admitted attacking her three days later and said he tried to kill himself afterward, a police detective testified Monday.

An attorney for the man accused of killing former Hermosa Beach model Linda Sobek has asked a judge to throw out cornerstone evidence, alleging that it was coerced by detectives who denied the suspect's repeated requests to be represented by counsel during questioning. If granted, the motion could greatly alter the high-profile murder case against freelance photographer Charles Rathbun. The 38-year-old Hollywood man has been held without bail since his arrest Nov.