Gavel

THE HONORABLE RUTH Bader Ginsburg got it right. She opted to leave the Supreme Court out of the Maurice Clarett crusade so the court can decide more important things, like presidential elections. That doesn't mean Justice Ginsburg wasn't wrong. What will Rush Limbaugh and/or Al Franken have to say about this head-scratching refusal by a judge to overstep her bounds? An opera-loving, liberal champion of individual rights, Justice Ginsburg let the people down yesterday. As former Washington running back John Riggins once shouted to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor during a 1985 dinner function: Loosen up, Ruthie, baby.

On April 18, 2004, WALTER ALEXANDER SUMUEL, beloved husband of Michelle L. (nee Gavel) Sumuel; devoted father of Sierra L., Morgan R. and Amber J. Sumuel, Alexandrea A. and Atlanta A. Sumuel of Virginia Beach, VA; loving son of the late Rogers L. and Elizabeth Sumuel; also survived by three brothers, three sisters and many nieces and nephews. A Funeral Service will be held at the family owned Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk Inc., 7922 Wise Ave on Friday at 12 P.M. Entombment Holly Hill Memorial Gardens.

Language barrier An ad on the Baltimore Board of Elections' Web site reads: "Earn up to $150 being an Election Judge!" What does it take to become one? Not much. You have to be a registered voter in Maryland, and you can't be a candidate or a candidate's manager or treasurer. It's the third qualification that may give applicants pause: "You must be able to withstand at least a 14 hour day of work, read, write, speak, and understand the English language." -Doug Donovan Scouting out a role model Members of Boy Scout Troop 462 got more than they bargained for when they came to lead the Pledge of Allegiance before the Baltimore County Council meeting Tuesday.

A reader from Baltimore said that two rowhouses next to his home were foreclosed on a few months ago and he can't find out who is maintaining the properties, which have collected debris, grass and other materials outside the home. He wants information on the best way to track down the owners to discuss maintenance. Dear reader: The record owner of foreclosed property is responsible for complying with building code requirements until the court ratifies the foreclosure sale. These obligations include compliance with local laws requiring the property to be kept free of weeds, trash and debris.

WASHINGTON - Even though Republicans won control of the Senate in November's elections, Democrats are refusing to surrender power, leaving the Senate paralyzed. Sen. Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican, accused the Democrats yesterday of staging an "attempted coup right here on the floor of the United States Senate." The deadlock demonstrates that the Democrats, even though a minority, are willing to employ a political scorched-earth strategy, threatening two years of gridlock in Congress before the 2004 elections.

Texas has produced more than its share of commanding female storytellers, from Katherine Anne Porter to Mary Karr. The list would be incomplete without Patricia Highsmith, the Fort Worth-born author of 21 novels of suspense including Strangers on a Train (1950) and The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955). In addition to literary thrillers, Highsmith -- who died in 1995 -- also wrote seven collections of short fiction, five of which are now reprinted in an imposing volume called The Selected Stories of Patricia Highsmith (Norton, 724 pages, $27.95)

At the final auction at his store on Antique Row tomorrow, auctioneer Barney "Barr" Harris is letting someone else call out the bids. After five decades of selling antiques with the bang of a gavel, Harris said, he's looking forward to retiring from the city's best known strip of antique dealers on North Howard Street. "My wife is entitled to be taken on a trip hither and yonder," Harris, 83, said last week while preparing his shop for the auction. "I've enjoyed the business and meeting people.

GEORGE W. won't be traveling to England. Not that he didn't want good relations with our allies. He just belongs here, near our seat of power. We're not talking about the current White House occupant; this is about his earliest predecessor. It took $20 million from a little-known foundation in Las Vegas to keep George Washington in the town named after him. That's because the most famous portrait of him -- Gilbert Stuart's life-size rendering -- has been owned by British royalty since the president posed for the painting in 1796.

A word to Olympic sailors in Sydney, Australia, this month: Be on notice - two of the sharpest pairs of eyes on the Chesapeake Bay will be upon you. Pat Healey, Naval Academy racing dinghy coach, and veteran Annapolis sail racer Jim Capron have been recruited to the international adjudication panel for the Olympic regatta. They will be helping decide whether all that takes place between the 400 sailors on 272 boats in the 11 classes of Olympic sail racing is according to the rules. Healey is chairman of the judges committee of the International Sailing Federation, the worldwide authority for sail racing.

The judicial certificates are gone. So are most of the books.And in two weeks, their owner, Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Lawrence H. Rushworth, will also be leaving -- retirement-bound after about 15 years on the District Court and Circuit Court benches.At 65, Rushworth is five years shy of the mandatory retirement age. But he said recent knee surgery, a desire to travel, changes in the practice of law, and financial considerations led him to conclude that the timing was right."It's traumatic," Rushworth said.