No subject

about to be added to insult. David J. Strachman, attorney for the
plaintiffs, said he will move to translate the judge's ruling into cash for
his clients. "Shortly, we are going to be asking for a judicial sale for the
purpose of raising funds to satisfy the judgment," said Strachman.

In her ruling, Manning also took a poke at the U. S. government, which
backed the university's side of the dispute. "The government relegates the
(key) argument to a footnote," she wrote.

Charles Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, said: "We
are reviewing the court's ruling."

In several recent cases involving U.S. citizens and foreign nations, the
Department of Justice intervened, claimed the national interest is better
served if such disputes are resolved through diplomatic negotiations rather
than legal suits - an argument revived in the University of Chicago case.

"The government came into court crying the sky will fall if Iran has to
satisfy this judgment," Strachman said. He said his clients were pleased by
the judge's decision, which rejected that line of reasoning.

"They had been disheartened that the government defended Iran," Strachman
said. "It was very upsetting to them, because they were doing what the
Congress said they should be doing to help fight terrorism."

The Chicago case - formally entitled Jenny Rubin, et al vs. The Islamic
Republic of Iran, et al - stems from a deadly bombing in Israel nearly nine
years ago.

On Sept. 4, 1997, suicide bombers set off explosive devices in Ben Yehuda
mall, a popular tourist destination in Jerusalem. Hamas claimed
responsibility for the bloody attack, which killed five bystanders and
wounded 192 others.

Several of the survivors were American visitors who filed a federal lawsuit
against Iran and Iranian officials. They claimed that Hamas was financed by
Iran, making the country legally responsible for their suffering. Judge
Ricardo M. Urbina agreed and noted that Iran has a ministry for terrorism
and budgets "between $50 million and $100 million a year sponsoring various
organizations such as Hamas."

When Iran didn't show up in court, the judge ruled for the plaintiffs by
default, awarding them damages of $423.5 million. Though a victory for
Strachman and his clients, that left him the task of collecting from Iran's
assets in the U.S. - among them the collection of Persian artifacts housed
at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute.

In response, University of Chicago invoked an ancient legal principle, known
as sovereign immunity, which holds that governments can't be sued just like
ordinary citizens. The university's lawyers argued that, though Iran hadn't
asserted that defense, it was doing it on Iran's behalf.

When a magistrate judge rejected that defense, the university appealed to
Judge Manning. But Manning agreed with the original finding.

Larry Arbieter, a University of Chicago spokesman, said that because the
matter is still in court, the university declined to comment on the judge's
ruling.

Joe Brennan, vice president and general counsel for the Field Museum, said
that institution, though not directly affected by Friday's decision,
disagreed with it. He looked upon the aftermath of the judge's ruling as an
instance of living to fight another day. "It was only one of several lines
of defenses we've offered," he said. "There is another hearing coming up in
July, and we're confident of winning."

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