European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 30, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Pogo 6 the stars and stripes monday March 30.1987 conservative Calif justices take Over vote to review Liberal jurists rulings san Francisco a califor Nia new. Conservative supreme court installed after voters put an end to longtime Liberal majority has hot the ground running. In their first weekly conference the new appointees of Republican Deukmejian cast the decisive votes to reconsider six rulings issued Bihe court in the final Days of chief jus lice Rose Bird and two other ousted justices. They left office Jan. 5. More significant than the number approved is that the court granted every pending rehearing request by the stat attorney general s office in a criminal Case except one thai was put Over the issues covered a Broad Range from deals pc ally instructions to the use or illegally obtained confessions tothe parole of the gunman in the Noto rious onion field1 police killing. Past rehearing have been relatively rare and in pc usually led to a reversal of the previous ruling. This is Early evidence that the Courtis willing to entertain challenges to questionable precedent chief assist ant attorney general Steve White. Ephraim Margolin a prominent de sense lawyer and president of the Sanfrancisco criminal trial lawyers association said that although it s dangerous to draw conclusions from decisions to reconsider cases the suspicion is Strong that this court will move to Velum Cali fornia decades Back Al least in the Crimi Nal Law the court has been a Lender in Thefield of defendants rights relying on inc stale s Constitution to part company Withan increasingly conservative . Supreme court. It also has relied on the state Constitution in civil cases to expand privacy and free speech rights beyond . Supreme court standards. Some of those Deci Sions notably a 1981 nil ing that continued slate funding of abortions for poor women May be imperilled by the court demonstrated willingness to reconsider past rulings. The groundwork was Laid for a change in direction last november when Bird the Only woman Ever appointed to the court was voted out of office along with justices Cruz Reynoso and Josep Grodin. It marked the first time in so years of non partisan retention election that a Justice had been Defeated and Sig naked the end of three decades of Liberal control of the court. Duck Majian prominent in the Campaign that focused on inc court s fre quent death penalty reversals promote former Law partner Malcolm Lucas from associate to chief Justice. He also name appeals court justices John Arguelles Marcus Kaufman and David Eagleson tothe three vacancies. The new justices on the seven member court were confirmed by a state commis Sion just before inc deadlines on reconsidering the final Bird court rulings. In at least two cases rehearing had been expected. The old court had voted 4-3 to order the release of onion fiend killer Gre Powell ruling thai the parole boards coed Legal grounds to reverse its elfin 1982 amid a Public juror and cancel his scheduled parole Dale. With three of four majority votes none a rehearing appeared inevitable defense lawyer Karen Snell said Powell,53 who would have gone free next week after More than 20 years in prison had the ruling become final had known what was coming and was More prepared for it than i nevertheless she court s action was a sign thai lawyers throughout California cannot rely on decisions of the gone efe California supreme court if in was Abird court decision and in s going to be raised in an Appeal to this the second Case another 4- decision had reversed the death sentence of a san Bernardino Man for a torture murder be cause the Penally jury had been told to disregard sympathy. That jury instruction was ruled improper by the stale court in 1961 but was recently upheld Byich , supreme court. In another Case o be reconsidered the former court voted 5-2 to retain califor Nia s ban on evidence of statements that police obtained illegally by continuing to question a suspect after he had requested lawyer. The nation s High court has allowed such evidence since 1972 in forbidding it the California court stale could continue to apply stricter Stan Dards to self Ingrim Inavon cases under its own Constitution despite a 19s2 bal lot initiative requiring slate courts to Fol Low Federal standards in most evidence related issues. Margolin Range of cases suggests that the present court is Likely at least to consider revolutionary change sat a Pace which we would have been Hen Lam to predict before today another fan of wild kingdom ? a Gorilla it the Milwaukee county zoo in Milwaukee wis watches television in a new entertainment Center for animals. Zoo officials say they Crea cd the cell or la enrich the animals tires in Captivity. The caged creatures Are free to choose the entertainment to radio rid Cotune or the off switch. Sale of irradiated fruit planned los Angeles a papaya growers beset by a fruit Fly infestation thai could Cut off sales in other states this weekend Are testing consumer attitudes to Ward buying fruit thai has been zapped Wilh Post kill in Gamma rays. The growers have organized a test Sale of 600 pounds of irradiated hawaiian papayas at one or two los Angeles area stores in an Effort to Sec if Consumers Are wilting to buy the fruit. Ii is Only the second time thai irradiated fruit Wilt be sold commercially in the United states. Irradiated mangoes were sold in Florida last september opponents argue thai irradiation using such Materi als As cerium 137 poses an environmental risk during both transportation and use and they wonder about the health effects of eating treated fruit. Bui Sharon Bonier of the United fresh fruit and vegetable association dismissed such concerns Catling irradiation completely the Honolulu based growers group the papaya administrative committee wants to use irradiation to Light an infestation of the Oriental fruit Fly. A shipment of papaya to California was blocked earlier this month when in was found to contain fruit Fly larvae and slate agriculture officials have said they would consider Banning All shipments of the fruit if Mote Flics or larvae Are discovered. Robert Souza of the papaya administrative com Mittee said his group received a one time Only Permil from the us. Department of agriculture to conduct the marketing Survey bul exact location and Lime Are being kept a secret to keep away irradiation opponents we want As objective a test As possible and we Don t want coalition representatives going around scar ing people sauza said. Representatives of the National coalition to Slop food irradiation have said they will Pula l any store Hal Sells irradiated fruit. Stateside 17 cuban refugees found 100 Miles off key West key West Fla a seventeen cuban refugee arrived in the United states saturday alter Ibe coast guard discovered them adrift in a 35-foot wooden Oyster boat a 74-year-old woman and her daughter were air lifted to a Hospital Lale Friday because of the older woman s poor physical condition said coast guard it. Chris Otto. The daughter did not require medical treatment but accompanied her Mother who was treated and re leased to Federal custody immigration officials refugees told the coast guard they had been at sea about to hours when they were spotted Friday inthe relatively shallow Waters of the Cay Sal Banks about 45 Miles North of the cuban coast and about to Miles Southeast of this Island City. 4 College students killed when train plows into car Lawrence Kan. A a fasl moving freight train crashed into a car carrying four University of Kansas students to a sorority party killing the car occupants. One of those killed Friday night was a member of the University s chapter of Chi Omega which was sponsoring the barn party said chapter president Ca Therine tuck. Five women from the University of Mississippi s Chi Omega chapter were killed thursday after being hit by a Cardu Ringa Charity walk a Thon Nearo Foid Kansas victims two men and two women were dead on arrival at a Hospital investigators victims were identified As Daniel a Mcdevitt 19, of Salina Joel a Grantham 20, of Overland Park Jennifer l. Jones 19, of Manchester to. And Eliza Beth Betsy Dunlap 21, also of Salina. Barricades will protect March of the salamanders Amherst. Mass. Up1 lovelorn salamanders will be proc Cid from the threat of automobile tires As they make their annual pilgrimage across a Road to a Breeding Pond this Spring an environmentalist has said. Robert Winston. 44, said he got permission from the Board of Csc Cimon to Terri Tase a 500-Yard Strelch of Henry Street Ai night so inc spotted Mote salamanders can Cross from a wooded area to a shallow Pond with out being run Over. We re probably talking about a Hundred Salaman did Winston who lint saw the annual March of the salamanders to the Pond 12 years ago
