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

DATE: THURSDAY, September 28, 1995                   TAG: 9509280044
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press|
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

LA POLICE SENTENCES WIN REVIEW

The justices let stand the federal convictions of Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell but agreed to decide whether a trial judge wrongly was ordered to consider giving them longer sentences than they first received.

Monday is the official beginning of the court's 1995-96 term, but the justices got a head start by announcing they will hear arguments in the Koon and Powell appeals as well as eight other cases.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist may have to miss the opening of the new term. He underwent back surgery Wednesday.

In other cases, the court:

Agreed to decide whether a federal environmental law lets people sue to recover the cost of cleaning up hazardous waste on their property.

Agreed to decide whether the government must adjust 1990 Census figures to make up for an undercount of minorities. A number of local governments, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, want an adjustment to boost the minority figures.

Said it will consider for the first time how federal copyright law applies to computer software programs.

Agreed to clarify what issues should be decided by judges, and not juries, in patent-infringement lawsuits.

Voted to hear a challenge to the military's death penalty by a soldier convicted of a pair of Texas killings.

Koon and Powell were sentenced to 30 months in prison in the King case. A widely broadcast videotape showed police officers beating King with their batons after a March 3, 1991, traffic stop.

Koon, Powell and two other officers were acquitted in a California state court on charges of assault and excessive use of force. The verdicts set off three days of deadly rioting in Los Angeles.

The four officers then were indicted on federal charges, and Koon and Powell were convicted in 1993 of violating King's constitutional rights.

Powell was convicted of beating King during his arrest, while Koon was found guilty of allowing the beating to occur. Both men went to prison in October 1993.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld their convictions last year, but ordered new sentencings after ruling that the original punishment was too lenient.

The court said the trial judge improperly ordered a shorter sentence than the 70 to 87 months called for under federal sentencing guidelines.

Attorneys for Koon and Powell said the trial judge properly shortened the sentences because King's actions contributed to the incident and the officers faced losing their jobs and possible abuse in prison.