Jones' Lawsuit Can Go Forward

WASHINGTON (CNN, March 29) -- A federal appeals court today denied a request by President Bill Clinton to reconsider its January decision allowing the president to be tried on a sexual harassment complaint during his presidency.

The charges have been brought by Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, who alleges then-Gov. Clinton sexually harrassed her in a hotel room in Little Rock in 1991. Clinton has said her allegations are false.

The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted not to re-hear the case in a six-page opinion issued from its St. Louis office. That circuit has jurisdiction over federal cases in Arkansas.

Now attorneys for the President have 90 days in which to decide whether to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A three-judge panel of the Circuit Court ruled 2-1 in January that the case may go forward while Clinton occupies the oval office. However, if the case is appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court this spring and the high court agrees to consider the legalities of a sitting president being tried, a trial would likely be delayed at least until 1997.

In her civil complaint, Jones claims Clinton suggested they engage in oral sex, but she said no.

Related Stories:

• Whose Ad Is It Anyway? -- March 20, 1996
• TIME: On The Road To Scandal -- March 18, 1996

Related Sites:

• Earlier Decision In Jones v. Clinton - CourtTV Government Documents
• Text of the full complaint filed by Paula Jones

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