European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 11, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 b the stars and stripes wednesday december 11, 1991smith tells court he was picked up West Palm Beach Fla. A William Kennedy Smith took the witness stand in his own defense tuesday telling for the first time publicly his Story of being a picked up by a seductive woman who a sort of snapped when he called her the wrong name during consensual sex. A this woman a a real nut a Smith testified he had told his Cousin Patrick Kennedy after the woman became angry March 30. Smith appearing Pale took the stand shortly before 9 a.m., As can Ana other television networks carried live coverage. He was wearing a Navy Blue Blazer White shirt dark tie and beige pants. His appearance came after circuit judge Mary Lupo granted a defense motion agreeing to sharply restrict any Cross examination aimed at making past sexual allegations against Smith a trial Issue. Late tuesday morning Lupo lectured the prosecutor Moira Lasch about questions the judge deemed inappropriate and warned both sides against provoking a mistrial. After about 45 minutes of questioning by his own attorney Smith concluded direct testimony by replying a no 1 did not a when asked by attorney Roy Black if he had forcibly raped the woman. Cross examination was not yet finished when the session broke for lunch at 12 30 . Over two Days last week the 30-year-old Jupiter Fla., woman testified emotionally that Smith 31, abruptly tackled her then raped her on the Kennedy estate Lawn after inviting her to see his family s mansion. Smith giving a sharply different version of events at the estate Tola Lasch under Cross examination that he does t know Why the woman would report he raped her threatening to a destroy my family destroy my career possibly Send me to jail for 15 years. I done to know Why one would do  fifteen years is the maximum term under Florida Law for second degree sexual Battery but sentencing guidelines limit the sentence to 4vz years for first offenders. Smith said he a Felt sorry for his accuser but a the Issue Here is in a  he acknowledged it was a foolish and irresponsible for him to have unprotected sex with a woman he barely knew but said she was equally foolish. He said the woman warned him March 30 a a you re the one who a better worry. You raped me michael.�?�. Smith testified that while having sex on the Lawn he also used an erroneous name saying he called the woman  under Cross examination he said he had dated women with that name. A she sort of snapped a Smith testified. A she told me to get the hell off of her and she hit me with her  he quoted the woman As saying at another Point a and you Don even want  began Cross examination Smith by questioning Smith about his size saying a you re a big Man Arentt you a he agreed. She then grilled Smith about How the woman received bruises and a rib injury As two doctors testified for the state last week. The medical school graduate offered a Range of possibilities about How she got the bruises and added a i do know that she did no to get them from  earlier As Black began by asking him about his background Smith told the jury a a in a very  he talked about his medical career and his family including his a Uncle Teddy a sen. Edward m. Kennedy a mass. He testified that the met the woman at the a bar nightspot bought her a drink then danced increasingly closer with her a when we were kissing on the dance floor and we were very close  Quot i was feeling that i had gotten picked up a Smith claimed. The woman offered him a ride Back to the estate where she made some strange comments such As a a in be been Here before a called him a a Michael and asked to see his Drivers License Smith said. But the woman readily agreed to go to the Beach with him. He said she unbuttoned his pants and fondled him until he ejaculated then grabbed him again later and had sexual Intercourse with him on the estate Lawn. During Cross examination Lasch sharply asked Smith How he could have ejaculated taken a swim in cold Ocean water and then less than a half hour later had another ejaculation. A fall i can Tell you is what happened a Smith said. A what Are you some kind of sex machine Here a Lasch asked but Lupo sustained Blacks objection. She also sarcastically asked whether the accuser a was just overcome by your animal magnetism and she wanted to go Home and have sex with you a the Cross examination was halted temporarily late tuesday morning when Black asked for a Bench conference with the judge following a series of questions he objected to. The judge sustained the  upholding military ban on Gays assailed by Pete Yost the associated press Washington a Gay rights advocates Are condemning a judges decision upholding the Pentagon a ban on homosexuals in the military while a conservative group says the ruling strengthens the nations defense. . District judge Oliver Gasch declared monday that the armed forces must have the Power to ban homosexuals if they Are to protect soldiers and sailors from aids. Joseph c. Stoffan a former Navah Academy midshipman no acknowledged he was Gay had challenged the longstanding defense department policy As unconstitutional. But the policy a of excluding homosexuals is rational and docs t violate the equal Protection clause of the fifth amendment Gasch wrote in a 35-Page opinion. The regulation a is directed in part at preventing those who Are at the greatest risk of dying of aids from serving in the Navy and the other armed services a he said. And it promotes a discipline morale. A respected system of rank and command. Morality and respect for the privacy interests of both officers and the enlisted Quot Gasch added. A we find the decision distressing but not a big Surprise a said Paula Ettelbrick of the Lambda Legal defense and education fund a Gay rights group in new York that represented Steffan. She noted that Gasch three times at a hearing referred to Steffan As a  Gasch said the fact that he used the word does not mean he is biased against homosexuals. Gasches ruling will be appealed to a Federal appeals court Ettelbrick said. The Rev. Lou Sheldon chairman of the traditional values coalition a National organization representing 8,000 conservative churches praised Gasches decision As a fair to the military and Good for the nations  people a engaged in homosexual behaviour have rights As individuals but practising such behaviour in the military generates obvious unnecessary problems a Sheldon said. A we look Forward to ensuring that the Issue is debated during the presidential Campaign a said Gregory King of the human rights Campaign fund a 35,000-member Gay advocacy group. He called the decision  Steffan was in the top 10 percent of his class and was slated for duty on a nuclear submarine when his naval Academy superiors Learned of his sexual orientation a few months before his scheduled graduation in 1987. He resigned but later sued. There was no evidence in Steffan s Case that he had had sex relations with anybody male or female. But unless Steffan made some commitment to celibate living a the presumption must be Quot that he a could one Day have acted on his preferences in violation of regulations a Gasch wrote. A the Power to protect the armed forces from venereal disease is ample to sustain the Power to protect them from what is now known to be a fatal and incurable virus the his a or human immunodeficiency virus which causes aids. Steffan argued that Gay men and women constitute a a a suspect class of politically powerless people who Are entitled to have the Pentagon regulations subjected to heightened scrutiny. Gasch disagreed. A homosexuals As a class enjoy a Good Deal of political Power in our society. It is beyond doubt that the homosexual Community has been Able to reach out and gain the attention of politicians of All sorts a the judge declared. The Pentagon had no immediate on Gasches ruling spokesman Bob Hall said. A dragging its feet court says by the Washington Post Washington the 2 year old . Court of veterans appeals has sharply criticized veterans affairs Secretary Edward j. Derwinski for failing to implement promptly some of the courts decisions and hinted that it May Fine his department or discipline its lawyers for future lapses. The court ruling in a Case of two veterans who had been incorrectly told they could not pay lawyers to present their claims for benefits stopped Short of holding senior a lawyers in contempt. But the three judge panel warned the a in a 21-Page ruling that its a patience is not limitless and that the department must promptly implement its rulings. Robert e. Coy the vans acting general counsel had conceded during Oral arguments that the department was ill prepared for the Impact of having the seven member court review its benefits decisions. A we have been Stow to react a Coy told the court. A it is just like an Ocean liner. It has been very difficult and frustrating stopping it and getting started in another  judge John j. Farley Iii writing the majority opinion said he found the Ocean liner analogy a a particularly Apt one Quot for the a whose benefits decisions Are initially made at offices in each state. A arduous As it May be Ocean liners do change course on the High seas a Farley said. A the decision to initiate a change however does not come from the engine room or the radio room from the ships Purser Engineer or doctor. On the contrary the order to change course comes from the top the Captain on the  despite assurances of compliance with a previous order in the same Case Farley said the court could find Only belated evidence that a a decision was made at the top a at the secretarial level a to change the course of the department of veterans affairs and comply with the courts rulings. The judges were irritated because a lawyers had offered assurances that the department was no longer telling veterans that they were barred by a civil War Era Law from paying a lawyer More than $10 to represent them. That Law was repealed when the court was created and lawyers in the Case were complaining a second time that their clients were warned by the a about employing lawyers to represent them. A spokeswoman Donna St. John said the department agreed a that there has been a problem with communications to the  she said the department has taken Steps to give Field offices guidance on court rulings within five Days of an opinion. Derwinski has been critical of the courts rulings claiming that it too often refers cases Back to the a for further review instead of directly ordering a  Boot stylists putting on the dog Vail Colo a the fur trim on some of the most popular boots sold at ski resorts this season Isnit Rabbit or Fox. Its Pooch. The fur is imported from China where dogs Are eaten. It comes in Many different types and colors providing a a Nice fashion trim Ana unique individual styling a and is a popular item in the Tec Nica line said company production manager Peter knights of West Lebanon . Teny lame of t. Lame sport Mode in Vail said that if customers ask they Are told of the fur Content. A if they object they done to have to buy it and id say very few people object a he said. The dog fur is used in boots worn after skiing