Decisions

Last spring the University of Minnesota's chief librarian thought he had found just the man to head the cataloguing division at the school's St. Paul campus. James McConnell, 28, who held a master's degree in library science, duly accepted the $11,000-a-year job. Unfortunately for him, the university soon discovered that McConnell was a militant homosexual. After McConnell and his new male roommate applied for a marriage license, the university's regents refused to confirm his appointment. McConnell sued the regents, claiming denial of his constitutional rights. Last month U.S. District Judge Philip Neville ordered the university to hire McConnell. Unless it is proved that he has committed illegal sex acts or that his homosexuality impairs his job efficiency, said Neville, "the homosexual is as much entitled to the protection and benefits of the laws as are others."

P: David Stein, 35, is a highly skilled British forger of post-impressionist paintings. After a London gallery exhibited his fakes--billing the show as "Master Forger David Stein Presents Braque, Klee, Miro, Chagall, Matisse, Picasso"--a Manhattan gallery eagerly tried to follow suit. New York State's attorney general took the gallery to court, contending that the paintings would be a public nuisance. But New York Supreme Court Justice Arnold Fein sided with Stein and the gallery. Since Stein signed his name to the paintings and gave fair notice that the works were "in the style of" the great masters, the judge found no illegal conduct. Fein even intimated that art buyers could do worse than collect the forger's paintings. "His work in perfecting the style of the masters," said Fein, "may properly be ascribed to that special talent with which true artists are uniquely endowed."

P: To curb auto thefts, the New York legislature passed a law forbidding motorists to leave keys in the ignition locks of unattended cars. As a result, Chester Gorski of Rome, N.Y. has been ordered to pay $33,862 in damages because his stolen car was involved in a fatal collision. The plaintiff, whose wife was killed in the crash, had a persuasive witness--the car thief. Donald Smith, 18, who is now in jail as a youthful offender, testified that he downed 18 beers at a firemen's carnival, jumped into Gorski's car, found the key dangling from the ignition lock, and sped off at 70 m.p.h. Gorski insisted that he had hidden the key in his glove compartment, but the jury believed the car thief. Gorski's lawyer, Edward Tyler, will appeal the verdict. "The real question is how much a person can be expected to foresee," says Tyler. "I don't think my client's actions are a proximate cause of the death, because there is an intervening factor--a criminal act."

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