Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - One week after the National Organization for Women declined to support Paula Jones in her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton, another women's rights group said Tuesday that it would get involved in the case. But the Women's Equal Rights Legal Defense and Education Fund (WERLDEF) would not take sides in the lawsuit, its president Gloria Allred said. Instead, WERLDEF simply was seeking to file an amicus or so-called "friend of the court" brief on the legalities of what constitutes sexual assault. "We wish to emphasize that we are seeking to be a 'friend of the court' and to assist the court," Allred said. "We are not seeking to be a friend of Paula Jones or President Clinton." "We take no position on whether Paula Jones or President Clinton is telling the truth about what did or did not happen in the hotel room in Arkansas on the day in question," she added. Jones claims that Clinton exposed himself to her and asked for oral sex in a Little Rock hotel room in 1991, when he was governor and she a low-level state employee. Her lawsuit was dismissed April 1 by Judge Susan Webber Wright -- who found that Clinton's alleged conduct did not meet the legal standard for sexual assault in Arkansas -- but Jones and her lawyers have since announced plans to appeal. Allred said her group will file a brief taking issue with the judge's interpretation of the sexual assault law. She added that she has supported Clinton throughout his presidency, and "believe he has an outstanding record ... in the area of women's rights." Allred, a high-profile women's issues lawyer who often represents women in sexual harassment cases, also made clear that she wasn't at odds with NOW. "We respect their (NOW's) decision, and we do not criticize or second-guess it in any way," she said. "They have every right to decide what is best from their point of view and they have stated the reasons for their decision." In declining to support Jones, NOW President Patricia Ireland cited "disreputable right-wing organizations" advancing Jones' cause and said NOW did not want to get involved in a case that had become so politicized. -- 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
