Paula Jones Appeals Sex Case

Paula Jones pleaded with a federal appeals court to restore "fundamental principles of decency, humanity and respect for the law" by reinstating her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton.

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"Mr. Clinton's behavior toward Ms. Lewinsky is evidence of his habit of making aggressive sexual advances to young, low-ranking employees (those who were most vulnerable and easily exploited)," Jones' lawyers wrote.

Before their legal pursuit was cut off, the lawyers said, they believed they could prove that Clinton acknowledged to Lewinsky that he had propositioned Jones and that Mr. Clinton tampered with Jones' witnesses. Mr. Clinton has denied any impropriety with either woman.

Wright ruled such Lewinsky-related material off-limits in January, saying it was not close enough to the core of Jones' case.

Jones' lawyers said the appeals court had the opportunity to "teach the whole people by its example" and could establish limits on power and privilege.

Portions of the appeal were released today by a conservative group aiding Jones. The 8th Circuit said this morning it had not yet received the court papers, but clerks said they understood the papers were postmarked Thursday, meeting a court deadline.

U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright on April 1 tossed out Jones' case, saying the former state worker couldn't prove necessary elements of sexual harassment particularly that Mr. Clinton transformed the state economic development office, where she worked, into a hostile environment.

"The harassment by Mr. Clinton was both severe and pervasive," Jones' lawyers wrote in the appeal today.

Jones says Mr. Clinton propositioned her May 8, 1991, during a state economic conference at the Excelsior Hotel. At the time, she was a state worker and he was Arkansas' governor.

Jones claimed that, in addition to the alleged hotel meeting, Mr. Clinton harassed her when he saw her afterward and that the lower court ignored a pattern of abuse.

"His subsequent come-ons could be viewed by a rational jury not as the charming excesses of an affable rogue... but as the systematic posturing of a predator," they wrote.

But even without the later events, the initial meeting should be enough to constitute sexual harassment, the lawyers wrote.

Jones' lawyers said it was unlikely that a case o such proportions would ever come up again.

"This appeal invites the court to reestablish fundamental principles of decency, humanity and respect for the law," the lawyers wrote. "At issue are the limits of power and privilege. At stake are human dignity and equality under the law."

The lawyers for Jones said Wright erred in dismissing the case without letting a jury consider it. Wright noted that Jones failed to file a state government grievance. But Jones' lawyers said it would have been futile to file a complaint against Clinton because he was governor.

The Rutherford Institute, a conservative think-tank paying a portion of Jones' legal expenses, released a portion of her appeal Friday. It said the filing is greater than 3,300 pages, including supporting documents that remain under seal. It asked the appeals court to release the entire record.

Written By Kelly P. Kissel