CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Harris’ Lawyers File for Court Hearing

Lawyers for Robert Alton Harris argued in a fat brief filed with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the condemned murderer is entitled to a full fact-finding hearing on his claim that mental disorders drove him to kill two teen-age San Diego boys. Defense lawyers Charles M. Sevilla and Michael McCabe claim that their 37-year-old client suffers mental disorders that drove him to kill impulsively. Yet, they said, evidence of these disorders was not presented to the jury that sentenced Harris to death for the 1978 murders of Michael Baker and John Mayeski, both 16, in order to steal their car for use in a bank robbery. Prosecutors described Harris’ claims as “ridiculous” and urged a three-judge appellate court panel to reject his challenge.