The Cincinnati Enquirer du lieu suivant : Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 1

i BUSINESS B7 Students bullish on stock game SPORTS D1 Cyclones win Game 1 vs. Orlando wv V. -V WHERE TO FIND CANOES, KAYAKS AND RAFTS rr ONCINNffl A Gannett Newspaper 501,100 Readers Daily Tuesday May 21, 1996 Final EditionEast 35 cents 1 Ate i I ENQUIRER 'Don yt punish her because you don 't like her 9 ssr SHsl i) Sutorius 'V m3 i Cincinnati's Issue 3 also faces test BY PAUL BARTON and JULIE IRWIN The Cincinnati Enquirer WASHINGTON In a ruling with major implications for Cincinnati's controversial anti-gay rights initiative, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struck down a similar statewide law in Colorado as unconstitutional. The court ruled 6-3 against Colorado's 1992 constitutional amendment that prohibits any action designed to protect the status of persons 71 i fin ss I i Iff jL; i i i 'A j' seeks no sympathy Defense: Not pleasant, but also not guilty BY KRISTEN DELGUZZI The Cincinnati Enquirer Their relationship began just more than a year ago with a dat-ing-service introduction.

On Monday, the final scene in the short, storied marriage of Dr. Darryl Sutorius and Delia Dante Sutorius opened in a filled-to-ca-pacity Hamilton County courtroom. Scores of reporters, curious courthouse employees, spectators, and the children and former wife of Dr. Sutorius lined the benches and overflowed onto folding chairs. Even the mother of lead defense attorney R.

Scott Croswell III was in the room as jury selection began in the case that has captured the attention of national talk shows, Court TV and made-for-TV movie producers. The center of it all, the oft-wed Mrs. Sutorius, sat primly in a corner Monday. She appeared oblivious to all the cameras and had few visible reactions. Mrs.

Sutorius, 45, is charged with aggravated murder in the Feb. 18 death of 55-year-old Dr. Sutorius, who was found on his basement couch with a single gunshot wound to the head. Prosecutors say Mrs. Sutorius shot her husband of 11 months, then rigged the crime scene to make it look like a suicide.

They will attempt to paint a picture of a woman who in her search for a wealthy husband married and divorced over and over. They say Mrs. Sutorius is a "black widow." The defense team will argue (Please see SUTORIUS, Page A5) $2M paint job brushed aside BY JOAN BISKUPIC The Washington Post WASHINGTON In its clearest action in recent years against excessive jury awards, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected a BMW owner's $2 million award for a flawed paint job and said "grossly excessive" damages violate the Constitution. Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority, noted that the $2 million in punitive damages was 500 times the amount of actual harm. Ira Gore a Birmingham, physician, sued BMW when he discovered his new car had been partly repainted.

Earlier this month, President Clinton vetoed a bill that would have limited damages against makers of defective products. Proponents said lawsuits cost consumers billions a year in higher prices. But Mr. Clinton said "the legitimate problems of ordinary people" should not be sacrificed to get rid of frivolous lawsuits. In Monday's 5-4 decision, Justice Stevens cited three factors to determine whether an award violates due process of law: the reprehensibility of the conduct; the harm suffered; and a comparison between the jury award and the civil penalties authorized through state law or imposed in comparable cases.

based on their "homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or relationships." The majority opinion, delivered by Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, ruled the Colorado law known as Amendment 2 violated the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law. "It identifies per- Inside A chronology of Cincinnati's Issue 3A4 What's next for Issue 3A4 Excerpts from the court's decisionA4 The court also ordered Kentucky's high court to reconsider its support for a law that gives investors in Kentucky companies a tax break B7 sons by a single trait and then denies them protection across the board," he wrote. "The resulting disqualification of a class of persons from the right to seek specific protection from the law is unprecedented in our jurisprudence." Joining Mr. Kennedy were Justices David H.

Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor and (Please see RIGHTS, Page A4) The Cincinnati EnquirerMichael E. Keating Delia Sutorius faces prospective jurors Monday. All but five of 35 potential jurors had heard of the case, but only a handful said they had passed judgment. U.N.-Ira deal may lower gas prices Gas prices keep climbing Gasoline prices have skyrocketed in recent months. Below is the national per-gallon average for self-serve, unleaded gas.

t-. 1 sein could exploit to keep aid from his opponents and illegally import weapons. "It's an excellent day for the people of Iraq," U.S. Ambassador Made- It's an excellent day for the people of Iraq' -Madeline Albright gas prices have been so high is refiners made heating oil longer, instead of gasoline. Also, with the anticipation of Iraq supplies, they let their stocks get very low." $1.31 Clinton renews China's trade status Days after threatening sanctions over trade piracy, President Clinton on Monday announced renewal of China's most-favored-nation status.

The news is likely to spark a battle in Congress to revoke trade benefits. WorldA2 America told to plan for aging population The Census Bureau is telling baby boomers to prepare as the elderly population grows from 33 million today to 40 million by 2010, and to 70 million in the next decades. NationA3 ket that prices rose by the end of the day an unusual reaction to an increased supply. Most analysts predicted the upward tic of Monday will prove short-lived. In announcing the agreement with Mr.

Hussein, U.N. negotiators pointed to the sharp drop in living standards and health care in Iraq since the sanctions were imposed. Some 4,500 Iraqi children are dying monthly from various illnesses, up from 600 before the war, according to UNICEF. The government has instituted a rationing system that has warded off starvation, but not malnutrition, which has climbed from near zero to 20,000 cases a month, according to UNICEF. Knight-Ridder News Service and the Associated Press America's beleaguered motorists should get some relief at the pump from a U.N.

agreement Monday that puts Saddam Hussein's oil wells back on the world market. The agreement, which followed six years of sanctions after Mr. Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, removes a major cloud from international oil markets, and will increase supplies at a time when U.S. petroleum stockpiles are at historically low levels. "It definitely will have an effect on oil prices," Rena Callahan, a spokeswoman for the American Automobile Association, said of the news on Iraq.

"Part of the reason 1.35 1.30 1.25 1.20 1.15 1.10 1.05 1.00 $1.12 line Albright said Monday, adding she was satisfied the agreement provided sufficient controls to preclude cheating. The agreement changed instantly the psychology of the world petroleum markets, though in a surprising direction. Confident that the oil situation was now stabilizing, so many traders rushed into the mar Britain and the United States, which had strongly opposed earlier drafts of the proposal, hailed this agreement. Iraq's chief negotiator, Abdul Amir-al-Anbari, said the two sides had reached a tentative agreement last month at least until U.S. and British officials objected, saying it contained loop holes that Mr.

Hus- Jan Feb March April May Source: American Automobile Association The Cincinnati EnquirerR.Mazzola WEATHER UC adds four hospital hearings Rain returns Schedule of hearinqs, the rules BY TIM BONFIELD The Cincinnati Enquirer Responding to a public outcry, University of Cincinnati trustees have added four evening sessions during which citi- zens can com High 77" Low 55" Scattered showers and storms this morning will taper off by afternoon. Mostly clear tonight. Next chance of a storm is Friday. writing, in advance. Speakers are asked to designate whether they are faculty, students, employees, general public, union members or representatives of interest groups.

i i 1 i I I I I I I I I I May 28: 2 to 5 and 6 to 8 p.m. at Myers Alumni Center. June 3: 6 to 8 p.m. at Kresge Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building. June 10: 6 to 8 p.m.

at Kresge Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building: June 17: 6 to 8 p.m. at College of Applied Science. Inside Details, back page this section Other hospitals Requests to speak should be sent by Friday to: Virginia Steiner, executive secretary, UC Board of Trustees, Administration Building 201, Cincinnati 45221-0062. E-mail to: virginia.steineruc.edu. Written comments will be circulated to trustees until June 21.

ment about pri-v a i i University Hospital. Trustees originally had scheduled one midaf- INDEX want slice of indigent care levy. MetroB1 Four sections, 156th year, No.42 Copyright 1996, The Cincinnati Enquirer Rules: Speakers will have five minutes. Time must be reserved in The Associated PressNASA TV temoon, three-hour public hearing for May 28. It would have been the only public session before trustees voted on privatization a vote still planned for June 25.

On Monday, officials added four evening sessions. The single public hearing had drawn fire from Cincinnati City Council members, city health board Abby C2 Obituaries B4 Business B7 Puzzles C6 Comics C7 Sports D1 Editorials A6 Stocks B6, 8-10 Horoscope C7 The Talk C2 Lotteries A8 Tempo CI Metro BL TV C3 Nation A2-3 World A2 Classified C8. D6-12 Primed on recycled newsprint using soy oil Ink question about what weight the trustees will give to the comments." So far, UC has released few details about the proposed privatization. On Monday, university officials repeated assurances that copies of a draft reorganization plan will be made public before May 28. members, civic groups, minority groups, unions and others.

"I think it's a good thing that they are offering more sessions," said Deborah Schneider, regional director of Service Employees International Union District 925. "It's a step in the right direction. But there's still a Waiting to exhale: Shuttle Endeavour's robot arm holds a satellite before its release of an inflatable antenna Monday. The antenna, similar to a Mylar balloon, swelled to full size but rotated more than expected. Health-scienceA3.