CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN DIEGO : Delay Asked for Condemned Man

Attorneys for Robert Alton Harris formally asked the state Supreme Court to put off their client’s execution, set for April 3, while the court considers a new appeal. In seeking a postponement, the lawyers said they wanted the court to be able to consider the appeal without feeling time pressure. Without a delay, they said they feared that the court, which set a March 12 deadline for the filing of legal papers, would produce a “rushed decision.” Harris, 37, convicted in 1978 of the murders of two teen-age San Diego boys, is in line to become the first person executed in California in 23 years. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court flatly rejected a broad challenge to Harris’ death sentence.