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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1994)
Possible jurors questioned !/)S ANGELES (AP) — lawyers in O.J Simpson's Irinl questioned prospective jurors in c ourt Wodnes day for the first time and the judge warn ad he will be "very suspicious of a Rip van Winkle" claiming to know nothing about the case Superior Court Judge l.anc o Ho said possible jurors' exposure to the case doesn't bother him The goal, he said, is to find jurors who can sot aside their opinions and judge Simpson on evidenc e prevent ed In court None of the H-t prospective jurors called into court said they have missed the intense publicity sine e Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. were found stabbed to death June 12. Many of the potential jurors said in written ones tionnmres they were glued to televisions watt hing a white Ford Bronc o carrying Simpson meander along Southern California freeways followed bv police cars on June 17. Jury prospects were questioned about their beliefs, backgrounds and knowledge of the c ase Some of the 79-page questionnaires they Filled out Inst month were released, providing an in-depth look into their lives. "I am not looking for hermits." Ito told the group "We would be very suspicious of a Rip van Winkle that awoke yesterday and just learned of this cast- " Prosecutors and defense attomevs agreed to dis miss one man after it was disclosed on his ques tinnnaire that he is an accountant for the Sheriffs Department and is in charge of tallying the depart ment's costs for the Simpson case He was the third juror dismissed Wednesday One man wrote in his questionnaire that he believed Simpson was "probably guilty" but would put that aside and consider the evidence fairly A woman quizzed by Ito and attorneys said she tried to avoid discussing the case since she was call»d for jury duty but. "When you turn on the TV. you can't avoid seeing loimthiag." The cashier in a county tax office said she believed she could be fair Asked by lto if she could put out of her mind portions of« frantic ’ll 1 call made by Simpson's ex-wife, the woman replied. "I guess so " I-ater. under extensive questioning from a defense attorney, the woman insisted she could judge the case on the fact* She said she hadn't beard of Simpson tiefore the )une 12 killings outside Ms Simpson's < ondo minium At first, she said, "I didn't know who he was until someone told me he was that sport player that was on TV sometimes broadcasting a football game." I he prospective jurors questioned individually in court were the first of about too people who passed initial jury soles lion Inst month They will be questioned until 12 jurors and eight alternates are found Hy law, the judge is the only person who may question jurors, but lto said bixauiti of the "unusu al nature of the case and intense media coverage that be would allow lawyers to query panelists lto took a hard line Tuesday against the prose i ution, threatening to dismiss key evidenc e because prosecutors waitcnl too long to send some items to labs for DNA tests Among evidence pros editors risk losing are the genetic test results from the bloody glove found behind Simpson's guest house the morning after the murders. Also in limbo are numerous other blood samples lifted from Simpson's Bronco, blood on Simpson's driveway and walkway and fillers from the carpel ing ill the Bronco The samples were sent for test ing in early September, about three months after the slayings lto said he will rule on Friday Eye surgery results please patients CHICAGO (AP) — Many peo ple who undergo surgery called radial keratotomy to correct nearsightedness will Ik? pleased with the results, but some may need reading glasses as they age, a study found. Researchers discovered that 70 percent of people who underwent radial keratotomy in the early 1980s did not need glasses or contact lenses for nearsightedness It) years after ward. Nearsighted people i an see close-up objects clearly but not ones far away. Farsighted peo ple can see objects at a distant e but have trouble focusing on close-up objects Radiol keratotomy corret ts nearsightedness by flattening the cornea, the clear tissue covering the eye's iris and pupil. The cornea flattens on its own as people age. however, which is what causes farsightedness in people over 40. I'he survey found some evi dence that radial keratotomy ni<i v make farsightedness occur more quickly in some people "Based on these findings, it may be that some people will he pleased with their vision shortly after having Rk. but their opinions may change 5. 10 or 1!) years down the road." said the study’s co-chairman, Dr Peter J McDonnell of the Doheny Eye Institute at the University of Southern Califor nia Forty-three percent of the |>eo ple who had their corneas flat tened by surgery saw the corneas continue to flattun to varying degrees in the years after tfii) surgery. Some of them mu Id eventuflily need reading glasses sooner, rtfseon;hent said. About 250.000 Americans undergo radial keratotomy annually The study, sjxmsored by the National Eye Institute, was the longest-running follow up of people who have bad the procedure Complications were few among the 347 patients operat ed on at nine eye centers nation wide in tfie early HIKlis, and no one lost eyesight entirely, according to tfie study But three percent of operated -on eyes had |HKirer distant e vision after the surgery than before, researchers reported in the October issue of the An hives of Ophthalmology City council unanimously bans cursing RARITAN, N.J. (AIM A utr with Florida plates pulled slowly onto Raritan's main thoroughfare Wednesday An elderly couple looked around curi ously. "Is this the town that just banned cursing'’" 1 lur ry Stiles, 75, asked a passerby. When the lam pa resident was told yes. Stiles replied, "Oh good. Because we want to move here." Stiles isn't the only person who likes the cursing ban the borough council passed unanimously Tues day night. A Montville man is offuring $10,000 to any state or federal legislator who can make c urs mg in public a crime, “I’m not saying 1 want a cop on every street cor ner with a bar of soap in his pocket to wash your mouth out with soap," Brad floiiigshurg said of his offer "But 1 do think cursing in public should lie banned. People can't seem to do it voluntarily, so it's up to lawmakers.” Other residents and visitors interviewed Wednes day in this two-square-mile borough oppose the ban, saying it infringes on free speech Brea Dougherty. 21. said she couldn't believe the council passed it. "What are they thinking?" said Dougherty, who recently moved here from Philadelphia. "The days of Lnavt? It to Beaver and American Bandstand are long gone. The council should be more worried about how to protect citizens from crime and how to keep property taxes low.” The cursing ban makes it illegal for people to behave in a disorderly manner by using "noisy, rude or indecent behavior, by using profane, vulgar or inch** uni language, by making insulting remarks or comments to others” in public. Violators will In- issued a summons, and could get as much as a $500 fine and 90 days in tail The American Civil Liberties Union's New |er sey chapter has deemed the Iran unconstitutional Ld Martonu. the chapter's executive direr tor. said the organization would not take action unless police enforce the Iran Raritan Police Chief Joseph Sfer ra has said that doing so would only invite u law suit. Martone has said the ACLl! will probably step in and help if someone wants to challenge the ban. That didn't scare Mayor Anthony DeCicco from going ahead with Tuesday night's vote, and it isn't scaring the twin's supporters. Houigsherg made the same S10.00U offer in ltIHH — after being angered in a Point Pleasant restau rant when a group of men were cursing loudly, bothering not only him. but an elderly couple nearby. "When the elderly man asked them to stop curs ing. one of the men said. 'Sit down, you bleeping old man.' " Houigsherg recalled. “So then I stood up and told them to stop." The men took one look at Honigsberg. a 45-year old with the build of a football player, and decid ed to knock it off. Honigsberg laughed. "Foul language is like a symptom," he said. "It's a defiance of accepted social morays and decorum and authority." Custom Color CALENDARS! 10% Discount t»C 'Cs ‘ ' ]\ i 4 1545 344 35-55 *<>» 344 CS?C $19,00/month preopening membership special Pay no enrollment fee. t1 OREGON vs. CAL BE*?* .16 •UN* J tree ticket ---“^ \i( (/ . ^S^S^conrm-* gLfM ^cJun*U»CO»«T’ szxsyss 1Q qi****^ i W ho> 'nor' *
