CHALLENGE TO PROBATION REJECTION FOR GOVERNOR'S NEPHEW

HARTFORD, Conn. - The lawyer for Gov. John G. Rowland's nephew has
asked the state Appellate Court to review a judge's decision to deny
special probation in a drug case.

Attorney William T. Gerace claims that a Rockville Superior Court
judge abused his discretion last month when he denied 19-year-old
Peter Rowland's request for accelerated rehabilitation.

The form of probation, reserved for first-time, non-violent offenses,
would have allowed Rowland to clear his record after a period of probation.

Gerace had argued last month to Judge Terence A. Sullivan that his
court's view of drug crimes is so out of step as to create an
''irrational disparity'' with the state's other Superior Courts.

Rowland and his former roommate were arrested in September and accused
of selling marijuana out of their University of Connecticut dorm room
to a confidential informant and to an undercover police officer.

According to police affidavits, investigators later searched the room
and found 41 bags of marijuana, worth about $750.

The state is seeking dismissal of the appeal on procedural grounds,
arguing that the appellate court has jurisdiction only over the lower
court's final judgments.

Gerace said the prosecutor's offers for a plea bargain have carried
requirements that Rowland serve prison time.

Rowland's former roommate, Andrew Joonyup Hyun, pleaded guilty in
February to selling marijuana and was sentenced to one year in prison.
He will be deported upon his release.