FLASHBACK

By Alain L. Sanders

Bill Clinton is not the only sitting President to be faced with a private lawsuit. His idol John Kennedy was sued over an auto accident that occurred at the 1960 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles. It seems that four Mississippi delegates hitched a ride to a party in a chauffeured Kennedy campaign car that then collided with another car. The injured (and apparently ungrateful) foursome sued J.F.K. for $450,000. Among the plaintiffs: HUGH BAILEY, a colorful state senator known for his regular antics on a donkey, who hired lawyer Marvin Mitchelson, later of palimony fame. As Mitchelson's interrogatories began chipping into valuable White House time, J.F.K.'s lawyers tried a now familiar tactic. They argued that the Commander in Chief was temporarily protected from suit under the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940. A California court rejected the argument. Shortly thereafter, J.F.K. settled. Bailey's award: $17,500.

--By Alain L. Sanders