21.   An unsuccessful bill proposed by Gov. George Pataki last year would have allowed crime victims to sue convicts for money and property from any source.

22.   But the Supreme Court last month struck down the part of the law allowing rape victims to sue their attackers in federal court.

23.   California became a magnet for such cases last year when the legislature enacted a law letting victims of slave labor sue multinational corporations.

24.   Cult members including Asahara have failed to contest several lawsuits in which murder victims sued for compensation and won even though the criminal cases are still being prosecuted.

25.   --Did Congress overstep its authority when it let rape victims sue their attackers in federal court?

26.   If the law is extended, it will be without a key provision allowing rape victims to sue their attackers in federal court.

27.   Morrison and Crawford challenged the constitutionality of the provision letting rape victims sue their attackers, and a federal judge in Virginia ruled for them.

28.   Supreme Court justices appeared to doubt whether Congress can try to protect women against violence by letting rape victims sue their attackers in federal court.

29.   The decision is expected to affect several pending cases in which victims are suing gangs that operate behind mostly legal front businesses.

30.   The measure remains without a key provision that would allow rape victims to sue their attackers in federal court.