PUBLIC FORUM : JUDGMENTS AGAINST SIMPSON ARE EXCESSIVE.

Now that the plaintiffs in the O.J. Simpson civil trial have had their moment of glory and opportunity to celebrate their victory - which may result in a Pyrrhic one - the time has arrived to fairly and objectively analyze what has been attained.

Unlike virtually every other situation where a person accused of murder has been acquitted, Simpson has been subjected to condemnation by most of the media and American society, both during the criminal trial and throughout the civil trial.

The major difference in the latter is that the jurors were not sequestered, and whatever may have been their pretrial determination as to Simpson's responsibility, they were openly and continuously subjected to his outright daily condemnation by most commentators, including the widely followed Howard Stern. Such blatant interference with jury objectivity is difficult to comprehend.

I am licensed to practice law in California and England. Until the tragic deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, despite my love of sports, I had no knowledge of the fame of O.J. Simpson, and this enabled me to objectively consider the civil trial.

Simpson was found liable for the wrongful death of his former wife and Goldman. What is indisputable is that despite Fred Goldman's protestations to the contrary, Simpson has not been found guilty of their murders; in fact, he was found by a jury of his peers to be not guilty.

Simpson should not be required to pay more damages than any motorist who negligently or recklessly killed somebody else's child.

I have conducted personal injury cases in England and California, and I defy anybody to find a precedent supporting an upheld award approaching $8.5 million (for compensatory damages) where no dependency exists.

It should interest us all to know that the maximum damages for the loss of life of a child without dependents in England, is $15,000, plus funeral expenses.

Fred Goldman and his attorneys have publicly declared that this was not about money. The only way for them to convince us of this is to waive any claim to the damages and either assign them for the benefit of the Simpson children who lost a mother, or to charity, including all the proceeds of the book rights and any other sources of substantial income arising out of this sordid affair.

- Michael Bloom

Westlake Village

It's obvious that O.J. Simpson doesn't have $33.5 million. If he did, the White House would have invited him to spend the night in the Lincoln bedroom.

- Gary L. Davis

Frazier Park

Heidi Fleiss' sentence

Heidi Fleiss has been sentenced to 18 months for pandering. This is in addition to a previous 37-month term for income tax evasion.

In her first transgression she was a broker between two people, a willing buyer and willing seller, one participant having sold a service to the other for a mutually agreeable remuneration. Her second infraction was to end up owing the government money.

Can you imagine people, U.S. citizens, with the constitutionally guaranteed right of sovereign kings, going to jail because they owe this dismally overbearing government money?

Fleiss is in jail now, a jailbird, locked away for months. Do we feel safer? Meanwhile, Bill, Hillary, Newt and O.J. run free as birds.

Is this a great country, or what?

- Kenneth A. Eaton

North Hills

Trees and koalas

In an age when destruction of the rain forest in Brazil and clear-cut logging in this country are universally condemned, we discover that the L.A. Zoo is cutting down a lush urban forest in Encino to feed five koalas.

Michael Dee, the mammal curator at the zoo, states the zoo has enough food on hand to last the koalas for eight more months. What exactly does he mean by this? Are there enough trees in the zoo to feed the koalas for eight months? If so, where is the need to cut trees in Encino? Has the zoo heard of crop rotation?

At a time when the priority of the city should be on planting trees, there is no excuse for what the zoo is doing. The turning of 80-foot trees into 3-foot stumps must stop. Surely the zoo can harvest leaves from these trees without destroying their value as a tree in the process?

- John Deming

Encino

Habitat for Humanity 

After reading ``Habitat for Humanity reluctant to accept foreclosure'' (Daily News, Feb. 9), all I can say is thank God for Millard Fuller and the truly wonderful people who support this organization.

- William H. Brady

Reseda

`Where are our priorities?'

Re the ``Dogs vs. kids'' letter by Stave Ignasio on Dec. 25`

I was astonished to read that several area bike shop owners proposed to pay nearly $20,000 per year to the Department of Recreation and Parks to lease a one-acre dirt parcel for a weekly anti-gang program for kids. They were turned down.

The commission preferred instead to use 9.3 acres for a dog park in the Sepulveda Dam Basin at an estimated cost of $300,000 to taxpayers.

I love kids and dogs but where are our priorities?

- Belle Rollin Palmer

Encino

How to judge Clinton's address

I'm sure everyone will agree that President Clinton gave an inspiring, magnificent State of the Union speech.

He proposed cutting taxes, repairing schools, upgrading education, college for all, better training for improving teachers' skills, control of gangs and crime, increased foreign aid, maintaining a strong military, etc.

Then, the crown jewel of his agenda - balance the budget by the year 2002.

When Bob Dole proposed a 15 percent tax cut and balancing the budget, he was crucified and called a dreamer.

Don't you think that Clinton's proposals, together with balancing the budget, should be judged by the same standard?

- Herb Wiener

Encino