NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : No Appeal Planned in Computer Case

The Justice Department said it will not appeal the sentence of a suspended Cornell University graduate student placed on probation for paralyzing a nationwide computer network. The department, which had sought a prison term for Robert T. Morris Jr., decided not to appeal the lighter sentence imposed May 4 by a federal judge in Syracuse, N.Y. The decision was made after a recommendation by Assistant Atty. Gen. Edward S. G. Dennis Jr., head of the criminal division, officials said. Morris, 23, convicted of unleashing a computer virus in 1988 that immobilized 6,000 computers linked to a government network, was placed on three years’ probation, fined $10,000 and ordered to perform 400 hours of community service.