LEAD: In the trial of Bernhard H. Goetz, the prosecution and defense lawyers have battled for the last seven weeks over some of the most intricate and misunderstood laws covering how and when a citizen may shoot another in self-defense.

A NOTEBOOK: COMPLEXITIES IN GOETZ'S CASE

BUSINESS DIGEST: MONDAY, JUNE 15, 1987

LEAD: NEITHER man takes a romantic view of the fight business.

SPINKS VS. COONEY: RELUCTANT WARRIORS AT THE SHORE

INSIDE

LEAD: Competition for seats in the House of Representatives, once a spirited feature of American politics, has declined so much that in the last two elections, seven out of eight House races were won by majorities that approached or surpassed landslides.

MORE AND MORE, HOUSE RACES AREN'T RACES BUT RUNAWAYS

LEAD: Houston is a city of lovely green neighborhoods and magnificent buildings, but you wouldn't know it driving into town on either of the two main highways from Intercontinental Airport.

FREEWAY BILLBOARDS IMPERILED AS HOUSTON RETHINKS GROWTH

LEAD: Instead of meeting national standards for air quality by year's end or facing tough sanctions, New York City may spend several more years - perhaps the rest of the century -with ozone and carbon monoxide levels above Federal levels, according to government officials.

AIR QUALITY WON'T MEET STANDARDS

LEAD: Aggressive and innovative, the Honda Motor Company has emerged as a superstar among the world's multinational corporations. Its manufacturing plants in Asia, Europe and the United States have been turning out high-quality products and selling them at attractive prices. Its cars have won praise for their design and its dealerships have been hailed for the service they provide.

IN U.S., COURTING AFFLUENT CUSTOMERS

LEAD: Pope John Paul II declared today that the Holy See could not establish diplomatic relations with the Polish Government until his local bishops were willing to pursue the struggle for political freedom and the Government did not interfere.

POPE SETS TERMS FOR ESTABLISHING DIPLOMATIC TIES WITH POLISH STATE

LEAD: United Airlines will almost certainly emerge from the current takeover battle for the Allegis Corporation as an independent company. The odds are just as great that the airline will emerge much weakened.

INDEPENDENCE FOR UNITED WILL NOT END PROBLEMS

LEAD: One year after they were embarrassed, criticized and labeled as a team whose time had passed, the Los Angeles Lakers are once again champions of the National Basketball Association.

JOHNSON LEADS LAKERS TO 4th TITLE SINCE '80

LEAD: Stringent new farm law provisions aimed at reducing Government subsidies to big farmers have backfired, officials say, by creating a new level of entrepreneurs whose techniques are driving the costs of the subsidies even higher.

LIMITS ON SUBSIDIES TO BIG FARMS GO AWRY, SENDING COSTS CLIMBING

LEAD: Ten years ago, it was a serene slip of land in lower Manhattan where fish outnumbered people, warehouses crumbled quietly and visitors watched the sun rise over the abandoned piers.

LARGE CROWDS ANGER SEAPORT'S NEIGHBORS

LEAD: The West's central bankers, in a gloomy economic report, say that the industrial countries would have a hard time reducing trade imbalances without disrupting financial markets, causing inflation in the United States or pushing the United States or other countries into recession.

GLOOMIER ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

LEAD: About 200 South Korean students ended their occupation of a Roman Catholic cathedral in central Seoul today in return for a guarantee that they could return to their campuses.

SIT-IN AT CHURCH IN SEOUL IS ENDED AMID NEW CLASHES

LEAD: The great beanball war was resumed along the Monongahela today, and the Mets lost it to the Pittsburgh Pirates on a technicality. They also lost their rookie starting pitcher, John Mitchell, and their manager, Dave Johnson, who were banished by the umpires after the war had flared again.

METS WIN BATTLE, 7-3

LEAD: The Bronx is at a racial and ethnic crossroads that is likely to determine its future politically for many years.

IN BRONX POLITICS, SIGNS OF CITY'S FUTURE

LEAD: As the post-World War II suburb marks its 40th birthday, experts who study it agree that the suburbia of long ago has shed its role as only a bedroom community.

SUBURB'S ROLE IS RESHAPED AFTER 40 YEARS

LEAD: More than 145,000 students attend public schools in Manhattan. Fewer than 10 percent of them are non-Hispanic whites.

Metro Matters; Racial Barriers: Private Schools Confront Reality

LEAD: The Ford Motor Company is poised to sell its South African interests in a complex deal that would give its predominantly black work force a major share of the business, but leave its products still available there.

SOUTH AFRICA SALE BY FORD WILL GIVE BLACKS BIG STAKE

LEAD: President Jose Sarney's tough economic austerity program marks the end of Brazil's effort to change the way that foreign governments and banks handle Latin American debt crises, according to foreign and Brazilian financial experts.

BRAZIL'S ECONOMIC PLAN: AUSTERE AND ORTHODOX

LEAD: With new rules governing the expiration of certain stock-index futures and options contracts, the focus for potentially sharp moves in stock prices has shifted from this Friday's ''triple witching hour'' to the day before, traders and investment professionals say.

'WITCHING' FOCUS ON THURSDAY

LEAD: The twin-engine Gulfstream Commander airplane sat on the small landing strip with its front window smashed by one bullet, and its fuselage perforated by 40 more. Neatly stacked on the ground were packets of cocaine.

SAYS WAR IS FAR FROM OVER

IN TOKYO, GIVING DISSENTERS A FORUM

LEAD: Ronald R. Boltz knew what he wanted to do with his life when he was 12 years old.

June 15, 1987

Headlines from June 15, 1987

A NOTEBOOK: COMPLEXITIES IN GOETZ'S CASE

BUSINESS DIGEST: MONDAY, JUNE 15, 1987

SPINKS VS. COONEY: RELUCTANT WARRIORS AT THE SHORE

INSIDE

MORE AND MORE, HOUSE RACES AREN'T RACES BUT RUNAWAYS

Billboard 200

The Joshua Tree

Whitesnake

Slippery When Wet

Look What The Cat Dragged In

Girls; Girls; Girls

Historical Context for June 15, 1987