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

DATE: MONDAY, November 1, 1993                   TAG: 9311010059
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BIRMINGHAM, ALA.                                LENGTH: Short

HIGH COURT TO ADDRESS SEX-BASED JURY SELECTION

An Alabama man fighting a child support order has the backing of feminists and the Clinton administration as he asks the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a paternity ruling decided by an all-woman jury.

James E. Bowman claims a state court order to pay $415 a month to support a 4-year-old son is unfair because no men served on the jury.

The Justice Department and 17 women's and civil rights groups have filed papers siding with Bowman. They seek an even broader ruling from the court, one that would forbid disqualification of potential jurors solely because of their sex.

Kim Gandy, executive vice president of the National Organization for Women, concedes it is an unlikely alliance that is backing Bowman. "What's at issue here is whether gender-based discrimination is permissible in our legal system for any reason."

The Supreme Court in 1986 said potential jurors cannot be eliminated because of their race. In May, the court said it would use Bowman's case to decide whether to extend that ruling to include sex. Arguments are set for Tuesday.

"This is the first equal-protection case taken by the court in many years," said Deborah Brake, an attorney with the Washington-based National Women's Law Center. "We think it would be a very bad precedent to not extend this rule to gender."

by CNB