O.J. SIMPSON'S PLEA . . . NO SURPRISE

O.J. Simpson stated during his arraignment in Superior Court in Los Angeles that he was "absolutely, 100 percent not guilty" of killing either his ex-wife or Ron Goldman. About the only thing surprising about this declaration was O.J.'s attitude: he shook his head firmly as he spoke--a dramatic change from his morose mood during his preliminary hearing. BTW: O.J.'s defense hot line seems to be a hit. In its first day of operation it averaged 100 calls a minute.WHAT DO YOU THINK? According to a recent TIME/CNN poll, blacks and whites disagree sharply on the kind of justice O.J. Simpson can expect. Two-thirds of whites polled said O.J. Simpson will get a fair trial--just about the same fraction of blacks who said they expect an unfair trial. Another tidbit from the same poll: 42 percent of whites said they believed the case against Simpson was very strong; only 22 percent of blacks agreed. Post your view in the Crime folder, under "Say It Ain't So, OJ?"