Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Jones' Case Judge All Business > LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- The judge who dismissed a sexual > harassment lawsuit Wednesday against President Clinton > once took a law school class under his tutelage and then > campaigned against him in his first political race. > > It goes to show that when dealing with law and politics, > Susan Webber Wright is all business, say her friends and > legal associates. > > ``She's very businesslike. She follows the rules. She > follows the law,'' said U.S. Attorney Paula Casey, a > Clinton appointee who has known Wright for nearly 20 > years and once taught with her at the University of > Arkansas at Little Rock. > > Wright said in a 39-page ruling Wednesday that ``there > are no genuine issues'' under the law to justify Paula > Jones' civil lawsuit against Clinton -- and so canceled > a trial set for May 27. > > The ruling was done in characteristic Wright fashion, > said a former colleague. > > ``She's careful and methodical,'' said professor John > DiPippa, whose office abutted Wright's at the Arkansas' > law school. ``I call her a conventional legal thinker. > She looks at facts and then she looks at the law and she > decides whether they are sufficient under the law.'' > > DiPippa said he also had come to the conclusion that > Mrs. Jones' case lacked merit. > > Wright's ruling surprised at least one attorney familiar > with her, Bobby McDaniel, who had argued unsuccessfully > before Wright against citing the Clinton's one-time > business partner, Susan McDougal, with contempt for not > testifying before the Whitewater grand jury. > > ``It's pure speculation on my part, but I am sure that > there is probably a measure of satisfaction that Judge > Wright is feeling tonight for all of those who called > her a Republican hack when she was ruling against Susan > McDougal,'' McDaniel said. > > Wright, appointed to the bench in 1990 by President > Bush, headed a local organization of lawyers supporting > Bush's 1988 presidential campaign. Her judicial > appointment was sponsored by Republican Rep. John Paul > Hammerschmidt, whom she campaigned for in 1974 in his > race against an upstart politician, Bill Clinton. > Hammerschmidt won. > > The campaign came shortly after Wright completed a > course in admiralty law taught by Clinton at the > University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Clinton lost > some of the final exams, including Wright's, and she > reportedly argued to take the test again. She got an > ``A.'' > > Later as a law professor herself, Wright taught property > law, agency and partnership law, and other traditional > law courses. She served for a while as an associate > dean, after rising through the ranks from her beginning > in a closet-sized office. > > ``Her office was neat as a pin,'' said DiPippa, who > talked with Wright daily. ``You would describe her as > serious most of the time. She wasn't the backslapping > type of person, but certainly appreciated a joke when > one was told, probably not telling them herself.'' > > Wright's husband, Robert R. Wright, also is a professor > at the university. He drew attention earlier this year > when he said he has made suggestions, but not helped, > his wife make decisions in Mrs. Jones' case. > > As Mrs. Jones' was attracting greater and greater media > attention. Wright at one point requested an armed escort > to her car in the evenings and barred reporters from > congregating outside her office on the third floor of > the federal courthouse. > > ``She wants to be friendly with lawyers and litigants. > She wants to be perceived as someone who's not > dictatorial,'' said McDaniel, who currently has a > medical malpractice case pending before Wright. ``But > when it comes time to make a decision, she may wrestle > with it until she reaches it, but then it's there.'' > > Banker Herby Branscum Jr., whose Whitewater-related > trial before Wright ended in a mix of acquittals and > non-verdicts, remembered Wright most for the way she > moved the proceedings along. > > ``It stayed on schedule, and I thought she tried to > handle it rather businesslike,'' Branscum said. ``She > was determined to do what she thought was right.'' -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
