1.   And the Justice Department successfully defended those laws when legal challenges arose.

2.   Assistant Attorney General Peter Sacks, who defended the law before King, said a decision on whether to appeal has not been made.

3.   Both houses voted to reject it after debate that made clear no senator or representative defended current law.

4.   A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice, which defended the law, had no comment beyond saying that government lawyers were reviewing the decision.

5.   After participating in a mandatory middle school assembly that included prayer, Perry shrugged off its obvious illegality and his oath to obey and defend the law.

6.   But a spokesman for Bill Lockyer, the state attorney general, defended the law.

7.   But he noted that the court has not been consistent in this area, especially when states are defending liberal laws.

8.   By the same token, the Clinton administration knew that its best chance of defending the law successfully was to anchor the Internet firmly in the world of broadcast.

9.   Dan Blankenberg, manager of federal affairs at the National Federation of Independent Business, defended the law.

10.   Eric Taylor, who defended the law, said the state has to enforce laws until the Florida Supreme Court rules them out or the legislature changes them.