October 4, 1999
Web posted at: 2:18 p.m. EDT (1818 GMT)

In this story: Convicted cop killer denied new trial Drug tests for teachers cleared AIDS appeal rejected Ginsburg's cancer surgery RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court on Monday let stand the conviction of death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose jailhouse writings about the justice system have attracted worldwide attention.

The justices also sided with a school district that requires prospective teachers to take a drug test. And they rejected an appeal from an AIDS-infected boy who wanted to take "hard-style" karate lessons with his friends.

The high court's actions, announced on the opening day of its 1999-2000 term, came with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the bench, 17 days after she underwent surgery for colon cancer.

Ginsburg, looking slightly thinner and paler than usual, smiled broadly as she took her place. There had been no advance indication she would be present.

The court has already placed 44 cases on its docket, with dozens more to be added over the next few months.

Expanding on previous announcements on which cases it would hear, the justices also issued a flurry of new decisions, some of them dealing with appeals they will not consider in the new term.

Abu-Jamal says he was framed for the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia policeman

The Supreme Court:

• Turned away arguments that Abu-Jamal was denied a fair trial. The onetime Black Panther and radio journalist was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia policeman. He says he was framed. Thousands of supporters have staged demonstrations to demand a new trial.

While Monday's action frees Pennsylvania prosecutors to seek an execution date, Abu-Jamal is not likely to be executed any time soon. He still can challenge his state court conviction in federal courts, a process that someday could lead back to the Supreme Court.

• Let Knox County, Tennessee, school officials require drug testing of everyone offered a teaching job. The court rejected a teacher group's argument that such tests are unconstitutional if officials do not suspect the individual of using drugs.

• Turned away challenges to Arizona's program allowing up to $500 in tax credits for contributions for scholarships at religious and other private schools. Justices refused to review a state court decision that the credits do not violate the Constitution's requirement for separation of church and state.

• Left intact rulings that said participation by Michael Montalvo, a Colonial Heights, Virginia, boy with AIDS, in a rough-and-tumble karate school would pose too much of a threat to the health and safety of other students.

Michael's father had sued the karate school, saying its refusal in 1997 to let his then 12-year-old son participate in group classes violated a federal anti-discrimination law, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Michael was born with the virus. His mother and sister have died from AIDS.

• Rejected an appeal by a convicted spy for South Korea who said his rights were violated when he received a longer prison sentence because he was a naturalized U.S. citizen. The court let stand the nine-year prison sentence for Robert Kim, a former Navy intelligence analyst.

A U.S. appeals court had earlier upheld the sentence, saying it reflected the seriousness of Kim's violation of his oath of allegiance to the United States during the naturalization process and of his oath to protect secrets, not his national origin or immigration status.

• Refused to let Newark, New Jersey, authorities bar two Muslim policemen from wearing beards. The court rejected the city's appeal and left intact rulings that said such a ban would violate the officers' freedom of religion.

Before taking her seat and participating in the questioning of lawyers arguing cases before the court, Ginsburg smiled at her husband, Martin, and two grown children, James and Jane, who were in the courtroom.

Part of Ginsburg's colon was removed during her surgery on September 17, but last week court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said doctors found that the cancer had not spread to any lymph nodes.

Ginsburg, 66, fell ill this summer while teaching in Crete, and initially was treated for acute diverticulitis, a gastric disorder. Arberg said last week that the severe abdominal inflammation for which Ginsburg was first treated was unrelated to the colon cancer, but it led doctors to discover the tumor.

The justice went home from Washington Hospital Center last Tuesday. While she was in the hospital, she participated in the court's consideration of a number of cases granted review in advance of Monday's term opening.

Also sitting in the courtroom's guest section was retired Justice Byron White, the only living retired justice.

Correspondent Charles Bierbauer, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.