COURT DISMISSES SUIT AGAINST ADMIRAL

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 20, 1993                   TAG: 9301200098
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: STATE  
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short
COURT DISMISSES SUIT AGAINST ADMIRAL
The Atlantic Fleet's commander acted within his official duties when he summoned a Norfolk Naval Base police officer to his home and chewed him out for the way he treated the admiral's daughter, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
In an 8-4 ruling, the court dismissed William D. Johnson's $1.5 million slander lawsuit against retired Adm. Powell F. Carter Jr.
Johnson's lawyer, Jeremiah Denton of Virginia Beach, said he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Janeen Carter claimed Johnvon was rude and intimidating when he stopped her for speeding on the base on June 18, 1989.
Johnson, who denied being rude, was suspended for two days after an investigation instigated by Carter. In his lawsuit, Johnson alleged that Carter called him a liar and caused emotional distress.
The appeals court said that because Johnson was acting in his official capacity, the federal government had to be substituted as the defendant. The government has sovereign immunity, the court said, so the lawsuit had to be dismissed.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB