American Notes MARYLAND

Although he succeeded the redoubtable Spiro Agnew as Governor, Marvin Mandel achieved notoriety of his own in the annals of Maryland corruption. Ten years ago he was stripped of his office after his conviction on charges of mail fraud, which involved taking $380,000 in bribes from five political associates. Mandel served 19 months of a three-year prison term before President Reagan commuted the sentence in 1981. Throughout the ordeal, he maintained his innocence.

Last week a federal district judge in Baltimore overturned his conviction. Judge Frederic Smalkin based his opinion on a Supreme Court ruling last June that the federal mail-fraud statute should not be invoked in cases of government corruption. If upheld on appeal, the decision could clear Mandel's criminal record and compensate the former Governor and his co-defendants for thousands of dollars in fines.