ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 25, 1996 TAG: 9606250085
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
NOTE: Lede
The Supreme Court put Paula Jones' sexual harassment suit against President Clinton on hold Monday, sparing him the possibility of an embarrassing trial at the height of the presidential campaign.
The justices agreed to study whether the lawsuit should be delayed until Clinton leaves office.
They will hear arguments this fall or winter, precluding any trial in the meantime. A high court decision is expected sometime in 1997.
The court will hear Clinton's argument that presidents have ``unique responsibilities'' and almost never should have to face trial in private civil lawsuits while in office.
Clinton welcomed the development. ``The White House is pleased that the court has recognized the merits in the petition put forward by the president's attorneys,'' press secretary Mike McCurry said while traveling with the president in Nashville, Tenn.
Clinton's lawyer, Robert Bennett, said on CNN's ``Inside Politics'' that the case dealt with the separation of powers and the presidency - ``issues that I felt always had to be resolved by the Supreme Court.''
Jones' lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, said the court's action ``should not be any indication of how they are going to rule. The eventual decision is going to be a clear affirmation that we as American citizens are all equal in the eyes of the law. No one is above the law.''
Cammarata, who told reporters he informed Jones of Monday's action, said, ``She feels that the president is a coward. ... Those were her words.''
Jones' lawsuit alleges that Clinton propositioned her in a Little Rock hotel suite in 1991 while he was governor of Arkansas, but that she rejected his suggestion.
Clinton has denied ever having an encounter with Jones and has said he cannot recall ever meeting her.
Jones filed the lawsuit in May 1994 and is seeking more than $700,000 in damages.
A federal judge in Arkansas ruled that a trial should be delayed until Clinton leaves office but that pretrial fact-gathering could begin.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided in January, however, that the case could go to trial during Clinton's presidency.
``We hold that the Constitution does not confer upon an incumbent president any immunity from civil actions that arise from his unofficial acts,'' the appeals court said.
In the appeal granted Monday, Clinton's lawyers said only ``exceptional circumstances'' should force a sitting president to face trial in a private civil lawsuit.
No other president has been compelled to do so, his lawyers said, adding that a trial could jeopardize the constitutional separation of powers between the judiciary and presidency.
Jones' lawyers had argued that a trial should go forward, adding that a delay would hurt her case.
Her lawyers said Clinton did not show that his presidential duties would be impaired by the case. They noted that Clinton testified by videotape during the Whitewater trial of Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker and Clinton's former Whitewater partners.
The Justice Department supported the president's request to put off the trial, saying that compelling him to defend against a private claim while in office ``creates serious risks for the institution of the presidency.''
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Jones. color.by CNB