8A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 28, 1995 Defense m bombing to ask for spli*t trials I Defendants may testify against each other From Daily Wire Services OKLAHOMA CITY - In a major 'reak over legal strategy, the two de- tense teams in the Oklahoma City bomb- ing split yesterday over some of the nost important issues in the case andno longer agree about who should hear the rial or whether it should be held any- where in the state. The abrupt breakdown in what had been shaping up as a dual-track defense is now seen by some legal observers as setting the groundwork for separate tri- als for defendants Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. That scenario also raisesthepossibility that the two former Army buddies eventually would testify' against each other at trial. Michael Tigar, an Austin, Texas, at- torney representing Nichols, filed an appeal yesterday with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, pressing higher his demand that U.S. District Judge Wayne Alley of Okla- homa City step down. He argued that Alley is a "victim" of the April 19 bombing because his court- room and chambers were damaged when the blast destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building next door. The lawyer suggested that Alley's deci- sion earlier this month not to step down had a "somewhat contemptuous tone" and that Supreme Court to rule on race cases AP PHOTO Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and first lady Cathy Keating speak with the media Tuesday before their "Thank You America Tour," in which they will visit four cities to offer thanks to those who helped following the federal building's April bombing. the judge's "conclusion is unwarranted." "Can a judge who, along with his co- workers, has himself been directly vic- timized by a crime of violence sit in judgment over one accused of commit- ting that very crime?" Tigar asked the appellate court. Lastmonth, Stephen Jones ofEnid, Okla., the lawyer for McVeigh, sided with Tigar in legal briefs urging Alley to excuse himself. But now he said he has changed his mind and is willing to accept Alley. Jones said he fears that a replacement judge could be more detrimental to the defense. On a second front, Tigar said he plans to file a separate appeal for a change of venue, challenging Alley's decision to hold the bombing trial in Lawton, in the southwest part of the state. Tigar wants the trial held outside of Oklahoma. Jones earlier embraced the change- of-venue issue with Tigar. But now he said he may very well drop that position in favor of Lawton, pointing to a new statewide poll that - surprisingly - shows 45 percent of residents in the state's southwest region are undecided about McVeigh's guilt or innocence. From the beginning, Jones' client has beendepicted as the prime mover in the bombing that killed 169 people and injyred another 600. *k I'm warming to Lawton," Jones said. Both defense attorneys also said they want separate trials. Tigar has repeatedly pointed out that Nichols was not even in Oklahoma on the day of the blast. But Jones has indicated that McVeigh never .had the means or the brains to single- handedly carry out the worst terrorist attack in the United States. The Washington Post WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court said yesterday it would decide the politically charged question of whether the government must adjust census figures to compensate for the undercounting of racial minorities in the nation's big cities. A ruling in the case ultimately could change the apportionment of congres- sional seats and distribution of federal funds among states. "It all boils down to power and money," observed Barbara Everitt Bryant, director of the Census Bureau from 1989 to 1993. Bryant, commenting yesterday on the court's announcement, noted that cen- sus data are used not only to reappor- tion Congress but to draw districts for legislative seats down to the city coun- cil level. The case arises from a decision by Bush administration Commerce Secre- tary Robert Mosbacher not to adjust the 1990 population count after census of- ficials determined there had been an undercount of minorities and certain ethnic groups. That decision, challenged by New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and the District of Columbia among other cit- ies, became an issue in the 1992 elec- tions. Democrats argued the GOP ad- ministration deliberately refused to ac- count for inner-city residents who were likely to vote Democratic. Ronald Brown, then-chairman of the Demo- cratic National Committee and now President Clinton's commerce secre- tary, attacked the Bush administration for the decision. But after a federal appeals court in Manhattan ruled last year that Mosbacher did not do enough to ensure an accurate head count, the Clinton Justice Department appealed to the high court. In accepting the appeal, United States vs. City of New York, the court unoffi- cially opened its new term. As is their tradition, the justices will not begin hearing cases until Oct. 2, the first Monday in October. But as the court has done in the past two years, it made an early start on new cases to supple- ment a relatively slim calendar carried over from last term. The justices also said yesterday they would hear a sentencing appeal from two police officers convicted in the highly publicized, videotaped beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles fdurt years ago. After former sergeant Stacey Koon and officer Laurence Powell were con- victed by a federal jury of civil rights violations, they were sentenced to 30 months in prison. An appeals court ruled last year that the sentencing judge im- properly departed from federal sentenc- ing guidelines and the sentences should have been at least 70 months. The trial judge had reduced their prison time largely because the defen- dant police officers initially had been provoked by King, because they would be susceptible to abuse in prison, and because they were tried both in state and federal courts. Critics question Oregon's new mail balloting system From Daily Wire Services PORTLAND, Ore. - When Oregon conducts its primary for replacing Re- publican Sen. Bob Packwood later this year, the ballot box will be as near as the corner mailbox. Analysts say this simple experiment in mail-order democracy could forever change the way campaigns are run - and, some warn, threaten the process of community-building that oc- curs when citizens gather at their polling stations. The new vote-by-mail experiment, never before attempted in a congressional election, is heralded as awayto save up to $2.5 million a year in election costs and lure large numbers of voters to the polls. Critics say it will make campaigns more expensive by forcing candidates to seek longerpre-election exposure andwill open the door to potential fraud. Some political analysts predict that vote-by-mail balloting, already widely used in local issue races in Oregon, will givebetter-organized Republicans an edge and could mean a new level of political engineering by churches and other social groups with the ability to organize ballot- ing within their memberships. "You can easily see the potential for families sitting down together and decid- ing how to vote, and what scares every- body is the churches sitting down to- gether and saying you can vote however you want-hell is an option," saidJames D. Moore, political science professor at the University of Portland. The Oregon Legislature in the closing hours ofits last session in June adopted a, statewide vote-by-mail measure Ahi would have required all elections to b conducted by post. But Gov. John Kitzhaber vetoed the law, saying :he thought the idea needed further study. The Democratic governor was repent edly urged into caution by both politiei parties. Democrats feared that the Repul licans' superior organizational abilitdes would give them the edge. Republicans worried that ballots would be place&° in the hands of large numbers of Democrats who usually don't bother to vote. Packwood's recent decision to leav office Oct. 1 in the wake of the'.e scandal surrounding him provided an opportunity for all sides to give the toaid- in ballot a trial run in both a Dec: primary and the general election on Jn 30. Past experiments in local elections hate demonstratedsignificantincreasesinvotr participation and only one reported in- stance of fraud, when a county comnif sioner in southwest Oregon filled out'a ballot on behalf of his wife, who was i the hospital. Government officials have downplaYed the potential forfraud,incorporatingcare ful signature checks and a double enve- lope to protect the secret ballot. Critics say the measure nonetheless opens tle door to problems when ballots begin "floating around" in people's homes and cars. THE MICHIGAN LEAGUE PROGRAMMING (Lifestyle Enrichment and Advancement Pmgram) in cooperation with THE UNIVERSITY HEALTH SERVICE Presents T1rIa & TIME AX A AT A ('V'11,rtNTT m I Al 1 USU IILI -7