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

DATE: THURSDAY, December 29, 1994                   TAG: 9412290124
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LITTLE ROCK, ARK.                                LENGTH: Short

SUIT AGAINST PRESIDENT PUT ON HOLD

A federal judge Wednesday refused to throw out Paula Corbin Jones' sexual-harassment lawsuit against President Clinton but said the case cannot go to trial until he is out of office.

Granting the president absolute immunity from such lawsuits - that is, dismissing the case - ``would be contrary to our form of government,'' U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright said. ``Even the sovereign is subject to God and the law,'' she added, citing the English Magna Carta.

However, noting that Jones did not file suit until two days before the three-year statute of limitations expired, the judge said there is no urgency and that the case can wait until Clinton is out of office.

``To disturb the president with defending civil litigation that does not demand immediate attention under the circumstances would be to interfere with the conduct of the duties of the office,'' Wright said.

However, the judge said the taking of sworn statements from witnesses and other fact-finding procedures can proceed in the meantime. One of Clinton's attorneys, Carl S. Rauh, said the president likely would appeal that decision.

Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, has accused Clinton of making unwanted sexual overtures in a Little Rock hotel in 1991, when he was governor of Arkansas.

by CNB