European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 6, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 a the stars and stripes Friday March 6, 1992 victim s past inadmissible brutality trial judge rules Simi Valley Calif. A defense attorneys in the brutality trial of four los Angeles police officers were barred wednesday from opening their cases with any a character assassination of the Black victim. Superior court judge Stanley Weisberg ruling on the eve of opening statements said jurors can be told that Rodney King was on parole when he was beaten by officers in View of a nearby residents video camera. And the jury May hear that King was paroled from prison 63 Days before the March 3, 1991, beating but Weisberg prohibited mentioning the robbery King was imprisoned for or any other parts of his criminal record. A a in a trying to prevent unnecessary character assassination of a participant in this trial on matters that May never be admissible a the judge said. Videotape footage of the beating which followed a lice Chase was broadcast repeatedly nationwide ringing a Federal investigation of police brutality nationwide. Black groups said Many such attacks Are racially motivated. Weisberg ruled after three defense lawyers disclosed new facets of their strategy. The defense said they will contend that King came at the officers in a violent manner. They said they would do Bri argue that Kings actions were based on a fear that he would be returned to prison for a parole violation if he were arrested. A this is a Man willing to resort to violence a said attorney Daryl Mounger who represents sgt. Stacey Koon. A a he a done this before Ana he a willing to do it again to avoid going to  a a we Veall seen the videotape a said attorney Michael Stone who represents officer Laurence Powell. A if these defendants Are not Able to prove they responded to a real or perceived threat then they have no  Koon 41, Powell 29, and officers Timothy wind 31, and Theodore Briseno 39, were charged with assault. Koon and Powell also were charged with filing false reports on the beating. If convicted the men face sentencing ranging from four to eight years in prison. Koon Briseno and Powell Are on suspension from their jobs. Wind a Rookie was fired. ,. Attorney Paul Depasquale representing wind said he wanted to Tell jurors about charges against King that were never prosecuted. Deputy District attorney Terry White said Kings past was irrelevant. Leafy Blaze for Lent children hide their faces from the flames As Palm leaves Burn outside so Charles Borromeo Church in St. Charles mo., on tuesday. Watching the Are is father Richard Tillman pastor of the Church. The Church burned the Palm fronds kept from last years Palm sunday Celebration to make ashes for Ash wednesday a the first Day of Lent a which began this week. The ashes Are put on foreheads As a sign of penitence. Ruling beefs up Protection for owl san Francisco up the ninth . Circuit court of appeals wednesday upheld a ruling halting All future Bureau of land management Timber sales in Western Oregon that would affect the Northern spotted owl unless the blk complies with the endangered species act. The court agreed with a lower court that the by my a land management strategy associated with preserving owl habitat a was itself Agency action requiring the blk to submit the strategy for consultation with the . Fish and wildlife service before allowing any Timber sales in those  environmental groups hailed the decision for the Lane county Audubon society of Eugene Oregon which sued the blk in 1990 after it adopted a Timber management plan known As the Jamison strategy without consulting the fish and wildlife service which listed the owl As a threatened species. A this confirms what we be said All along Quot said Todd True an attorney for the Sierra club Legal defense fund. A a blk has blatantly violated the Law for years and the courts Are finally calling the Bureau on it. A the court clearly held that blk violated the endangered species act a said Vic Sher another a Clef lawyer on the Case who also represents environmentalists challenging the exemption of 44 Western Oregon Timber Harvest applications by the by my a endangered species committee known As the a god  a this is another Nail in the coffin of by my a god squad application a said Sher. Last month a Federal judge ruled in another spotted owl Case that blk which manages about 1,1 million acres of the remaining old growth forests suitable for spotted owl habitat in Western Oregon Likely violated the National environmental policy act. A together these rulings mean that blk cannot obtain an exemption for its Timber sales and can no longer ignore the Law a Sher said. A three judge panel of the ninth circuit court which heard arguments for the Lane county Audubon society Case on Jan. 14, restricted blk a from announcing or awarding or conducting any additional sales Quot pending Complete consultation with the fish and wildlife service a including the Timber management plans promulgated Between 1979 and 1983,�?� intended to regulate what Timber areas Are  does t always Fly come june 30, it leaps from wire reports Washington a no sooner do we get leap Day Over with and they announce its time for a leap second. An extra second will be added to the worlds clocks june 30, according to the . Naval Observatory which keeps the nations official time. The combination of a leap Day and a leap second will make 1992 the longest year since 1972, when a leap Day and two leap seconds were added. This will be the 17th leap second added since 1972, when scientists decided to let their extremely accurate atomic clocks run independently of the rotation of the Earth and then adjust them periodically. For the record this year s leap second will be added june 30 at 7 59 59 . Edt. That last second before 8 . Will last two  count now 43 los Angeles a the number of people who caught cholera on a flight from Argentina to Peru and los Angeles has climbed to 43, and investigators have narrowed the list of possible causes. A a we be settled on three or four things As possible sources of the outbreak on Aero Lineas Argentina flight 386 on feb. 14, or. Shirley Fannin director of disease control programs for the los Angeles county department of health services said tuesday. She declined to identify the possible sources but said a a they re not All  As of tuesday Laboratory tests had confirmed 43 cases of cholera said Fannin and or. Ben Warner chief of the general infectious disease unit at californians department of health services. One of the 43 has  killer silent Hillsboro Ore. A a Man who sat through his trial silently and with his eyes shut has been sentenced to death for killing a Bank employee. A Washington county jury returned the unanimous verdict tuesday night against Randall l. Smith. Circuit judge Jon b. Lund then formally sentenced Smith Smith 38, was convicted last week of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder. Bank officer Kathy Demarest 40, was shot to death. Bank employee Carolyn r. Vaughan was shot at but not hit during the 1990 robbery. Witnesses said Smith told Demarest to look at him and then he shot her Between the eyes. The sentence will automatically be appealed to the Oregon supreme  Date set Killeen Texas a Lubye a cafeteria where a crazed gunman a shooting rampage claimed 24 lives last october will reopen next thursday company officials announced wednesday. The restaurant has been closed since the oct 16, 1991, massacre when George Hennard crashed his truck through the front window of the cafeteria and then opened fire on the lunchtime crowd in the worst shooting spree in . History. An estimated $350,000 Haslteen spent on remodelling the building new furniture and new uniforms for the employees the company . Passes abortion Bills Richmond a. A the Virginia Senate approved a Bill wednesday that would require physicians to notify at least one Parent before performing abortions on girls age 15 or under. The legislation is similar to a measure already passed by the House of delegates. The Senate a 27 to 12 vote wednesday afternoon came on a Bill that both sides said could produce the most important restriction on abortion rights in Virginia in the nearly two decades since the supreme courts Roe is. Wade decision. The version passed by the House sets the age at which girls parents must be notified at 17 and under. If the two houses Compromise on the age the Issue would go to gov. L. Douglas Wilder who was elected in 1989 on a Strong abortion rights platform