Judge decides to hear Clinton disbarment case

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - An appointed judge with barely a month's experience decided Tuesday to preside over a lawsuit that could cost President Clinton his Arkansas law license.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson was the fifth judge to whom the case fell after four others stepped aside, citing the appearance of conflicts of interest because of ties to Clinton, a former Arkansas governor.

''I didn't see anything hindering me from taking this case,'' Johnson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The judge said he wouldn't talk about the details of the case and had not decided on a timetable.

Johnson, appointed last month to fill a court vacancy through the end of the year, was assigned the case July 5 and had been considering whether to keep it. The judge called the clerk's office Tuesday morning and said he would accept the case, said Sherry Bruno, a supervisor in the office.

The state Supreme Court's Committee on Professional Conduct is suing to disbar Clinton because of his misleading testimony in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

The suit is based on complaints filed by U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright, who cited Clinton for contempt in the Jones case, and by the Atlanta-based Southeastern Legal Foundation.

Clinton has said the Arkansas committee is acting too harshly and that his lawyers will fight - although he will not get involved personally in the case.

Clinton lawyer David Kendall was in China on Tuesday and unavailable for comment, a secretary said. A legal associate did not immediately return a telephone message.

The Atlanta-based foundation seeking to disbar Clinton praised Johnson's decision to accept the case.

''I have a sense that he wouldn't have taken the case if it didn't feel it could be concluded by the end of the year, which is the end of his term,'' said foundation president Matthew Glavin.

Any decision by Johnson likely will be appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court, meaning a final decision may not come until after Clinton and the judge have left office.

If Clinton's case continues into 2001, it would be transferred to Johnson's elected successor.

Although appointed June 2 by Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee, Johnson voted just 10 days earlier in the Democratic primary election, according to state voting records. He also voted in the 1998 Democratic primary runoff.

Johnson's decision to hear the case clears the last procedural hurdle for the legal process to move forward.

The president has 30 days from the time he was served with the lawsuit to file a response, which could come by the end of the month. Either side could then follow with more filings.

The high court's Committee on Professional Conduct sued to disbar Clinton on June 30.