American Notes IRAN-CONTRA

Throughout the trial of former National Security Council aide Oliver North, the jury was the focus as often as the defendant. The jurors, all working- class blacks, became the butt of jokes because of their acknowledged ignorance about the Iran-contra affair. Last week one jury member was back in the news, seven weeks after voting to convict North of obstructing Congress, unlawfully destroying Government documents and accepting an illegal gift. A defense allegation of misconduct by a juror persuaded U.S. District Court Judge Gerhard Gesell to postpone North's sentencing until July 5.

Juror Tara Leigh King, 34, a photocopier operator, admitted having used marijuana and crack but said she stopped four months before the trial began. The defense argues that the possibility that she might have been under the influence of narcotics during the trial called into question the fairness of the proceedings. North's lawyers also claimed that King failed to disclose during jury selection that members of her family had arrest records, including an armed-robbery conviction of a brother. Gesell will hold a hearing this week, but the defense tactics are likely to win North only a short respite before he receives his sentence.