Notebook: Apr. 22, 1996

VERBATIM

"I kept thinking, 'Please! Please get some altitude!'" --Tom Johnson, a pilot with 15 years' experience, watching Jessica Dubroff's plane shortly after its fatal takeoff in Cheyenne, Wyoming

"Together, we are one. Separately, we stand in darkness. Yield to my entreaty. Come walk with me." --Lines of verse by lawyer Warren Wilson in an attempt to sign Unabomber suspect Ted Kaczynski as a client

"We are fools for Christ's sake...We must pray for the courage to endure the scorn of the sophisticated world." --Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia at a Baptist prayer breakfast in Mississippi

"Hollywood is run by Jews. It is owned by Jews, and they should have a greater sensitivity about the issue of people who are suffering." --Actor Marlon Brando on Larry King Live; he later apologized for his remarks

WINNERS & LOSERS

CELEBRITY LAWYERS

[WINNERS]

ANTHONY BISCEGLIE Lawyer for the brother of Unabomber suspect is newest bar star after SRO press conference

CHRISTOPHER DARDEN His Shapiro-besting best seller changes image from study in ineptitude to profile in courage

STEPHEN JONES Cobbling together a defiant defense for the most hated man in America, Timothy McVeigh

[LOSERS]

LESLIE ABRAMSON Menendez shrink says she asked him to delete items from his notes and not tell the jury

BARRY SCHECK Convicted rapist freed by the Perry Mason of DNA is arrested again. The charge: rape.

KENNETH STARR Whitewater prober investigating Clinton while serving tobacco firm investigated by Clinton

MOTHBALLED SAVIORS

Evidence is mounting that the Dubrovnik airport's primitive landing-guidance system may have played a role in the crash that killed Ron Brown and 34 others on April 3. Perhaps the tragedy could have been averted if the U.S. Air Force had deployed one of its AN/TRN-26 Tactical Air Navigation systems there. The unit can offer detailed guidance to as many as 100 planes at once. Just the size of a desk and equipped with a 10-ft.-high antenna, the system is so portable it can be set up in only four hours. The Air Force has 43 of these units, which it routinely deploys to under-equipped airports. Four are in use: in Jordan, in Hungary, in the Bosnian town of Tuzla and at Camp David. Where are the other 39? In storage.

ROSTY'S REVENGE

Even in disgrace, Dan Rostenkowski, the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has managed to leave his influential imprint. During two years of aggressive court challenges that led up to Rostenkowski's plea bargain last week, his lawyers blazed a trail of legal precedents that could significantly benefit future suspected congressional culprits. One decision makes it more difficult to prosecute breaches of less-than-crystal-clear congressional rules; it has already been used to throw out charges against former Ohio Representative Mary Rose Oakar for writing bad checks to the now defunct House bank. Another Rosty precedent is expected to make it harder for prosecutors to pursue members when otherwise illegal behavior is intertwined with official duties.

HEALTH REPORT

THE GOOD NEWS