Working Couple Proves It--You Can Fight City Hall

A pair of statute-crossed lovers can keep their marriage and their jobs, a federal judge ruled in Newark, N.J. Joseph Hughes, a North Arlington police detective, and Marie Hughes, a municipal court clerk, met in the town court’s halls, and married in 1988. State court administrators found that they violated a state regulation prohibiting marriage between police officers and municipal court clerks in the same town, and demanded that one of the pair resign. The rule was set in 1977 to prevent any appearance of a conflict of interest. The couple sued, and U.S. District Judge Nicholas H. Politan said New Jersey should forever hold its peace. In striking down the rule, Politan wrote: “No law, regardless of intent, should have a chilling effect upon marriage. The court should encourage legitimate marriage, not discourage it.” He said a clerk could easily withdraw from any case involving a spouse. Marie Hughes said she had been contacted by more than 10 couples around the state with similar problems.

--The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists “Doomsday clock” has been revised to reflect the importance of environmental, economic and cultural factors to world security. Editor Len Ackland said: “The clock is now superimposed on the Earth as a reminder that security means more than averting nuclear catastrophe.” The clock hands will remain at 6 minutes until midnight, indicating how close the bulletin’s editors believe the world is to nuclear holocaust. Albert Einstein and other scientists founded the bulletin in 1945.

--A letter from Marilyn Monroe fetched $7,150 at auction, eclipsing the movie-star record $6,600 paid in 1987 for a letter written by Greta Garbo, said Herman Darvick, who stages autograph auctions. A letter from former actor Ronald Reagan praising Frank Sinatra once sold for $12,500, but Reagan’s political career boosted its value, Darvick said. Monroe’s 1945 letter isn’t signed “Marilyn.” Then only 18 and working at Radio Plane Co. in Burbank, Calif., she signed it Norma Jean. Other items sold included a letter from former First Lady Abigail Adams, for $4,400; a photograph signed by all seven crew members who later died on the space shuttle Challenger, for $6,050; a letter from Adolf Hitler, for $3,575, and a document signed by George Washington ordering the execution of a spy, for $11,000.