June 14, 1983

A bill designed to protect new-car buyers in New York State from defective vehicles known as ''lemons'' overwhelmingly passed both houses of the Legislature today. Governor Cuomo is expected to sign it. The measure has been praised by consumer activists as a significant step forward in consumer protection, but the three major American automobile manufacturers have criticized it as unnecessary. Connecticut, California and Minnesota have similar laws, although they are regarded as weaker than the bill that passed here today.

The Supreme Court today took a step it has been hinting at and ordered an appellant to pay damages to the other side, $500 in this case, as a penalty for bringing a ''frivolous'' appeal. It was the first time the Justices invoked a provision they added three years ago to the Court's rules of procedure. The provision, Rule 49.2, permits the Court to award ''appropriate damages'' when an appeal is ''frivolous.''

PERHAPS the least known part of the City University of New York has been its Graduate School. Now, however, many of its quietly developed doctoral programs are gaining national recognition, placing the university for the first time among the leading research institutions in certain fields. Affirmation of this achievement, just 18 years after the Graduate School granted its first Ph.D., is contained in the results of a survey released this spring by the Conference Board of Associated Research Councils. Six of the City University's doctoral programs - anthropology, English, French, history, linguistics and music - ranked among the 15 best in the country in their fields. ''This recognition, in effect, acknowledges the quality of the university's overall faculty because most of those teaching in the doctoral program also teach at the undergraduate colleges,'' said Joseph S. Murphy, chancellor of the City University.

A Federal judge today ordered Connecticut to stop enforcing its law banning double-trailer trucks. The judge, Jose A. Cabranes of the United States District Court here, ruled that the state law violated the constitutional powers of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. State officials said they would appeal the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York and, if necessary, to the Supreme Court of the United States. They also said they would seek a stay to delay the effect of Judge Cabranes's preliminary injunction, which was issued at the request of the Department of Justice.

The United States Commission on Civil Rights said today it was ''disappointed and concerned'' that President Reagan had not appointed more blacks, women and Hispanic Americans to full-time, high-level positions in the Federal Government. The commission's appraisal came less than three weeks after Mr. Reagan announced his intention to replace three members of the panel. It follows 19 months of growing conflict between the White House and commission members who have defiantly questioned the President's commitment to civil rights in education and employment, among other fields. All six members, including the chairman, Clarence M. Pendleton Jr., voted in favor of the statement today.