New Lawyer Would Fit In Perfectly at Juvenile Court

Stephen Baccus’ brilliance shone early in life. While most of his classmates in Miami were entering grade 5, Baccus took a short cut to his high school diploma. He jumped from grade 4 to grade 9, and then, at age 11, scored 1,420 out of 1,600 on the college boards. Well, the brilliance shines even brighter today. Baccus on Thursday was sworn in by Circuit Judge Gerald Wetherington in Miami as a lawyer--at age 17. That makes him the youngest lawyer in Florida, and maybe the country. The swearing-in required the approval of the Florida Supreme Court. “One of the things I’m most pleased about is that now, when people ask me if I’m a lawyer, I can just say yes,” said Baccus, who received his law degree last year at 16 from the University of Miami, after being graduated two years before with a BA degree from New York University. The whiz kid is now seeking an MA degree in computer science at NYU.

--Their arenas are as different as baseball tickets and stock certificates, but they both play hardball in the major leagues. Reggie Jackson hits home runs for the California Angels. T. Boone Pickens, known in the business world as a corporate raider, has been known to hit a few as chairman of Mesa Petroleum Co. Jackson, an admirer of Pickens, said in a recent TV interview: “He swings and misses and hits home runs in front of the American public. I can relate to that. When I strike out and walk back to the dugout, I get criticized, too. When you go toe-to-toe with big business, that’s the major leagues.” Jackson’s comments found their way to Pickens, who arranged for Jackson to accompany him to Los Angeles for a speech before a securities seminar this week. “If I can learn 1% of what he has forgotten, I’d be on my way to my first $100 million,” said Jackson, who has voiced an interest in “merging” with Pickens. “I respect him first and admire him second.”

Miss Trinidad and Tobago won the Miss World crown in the 36th annual beauty pageant at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The winner, Giselle Jeanne-Marie Laronde, 23, is a 5-foot, 5-inch tall secretary from Marabella. Pia Rosenberg Larsen of Denmark was first runner-up, and Chantal Schrieber of Austria was second runner-up.

--Raisa Gorbachev, the First Lady of the Soviet Union, has been selected for the board of the new Soviet Cultural Fund. The fund will preserve national treasures and make them accessible to the public.