BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI

 Amid political wrangling in Washington over Elian Gonzalez's seizure, government
 lawyers on Monday filed a long response to a federal court appeal by his Miami
 relatives, while the family hired a prominent Miami criminal defense attorney to
 challenge the legality of the raid.

 In an 83-page legal brief, the government defended U.S. Attorney General Janet
 Reno's decision to reject political asylum applications filed by Elian's relatives on
 his behalf, arguing that a 6-year-old lacks the capacity to apply over the objections
 of his surviving parent, Juan Miguel Gonzalez.

 ''This case is . . . about which of two adults will be allowed to speak about asylum for
 him: his father, with whom he has had a close relationship all his life . . . or a distant
 relative,'' the brief says.

 Miami defense attorney Richard Sharpstein, meanwhile, newly hired by the relatives
 here, said he was exploring ways to challenge the warrants used by the government
 to seize Elian on Saturday.

 On Friday, the government obtained warrants for Elian's arrest as an undocumented
 immigrant -- a routine approach by the Immigration and Naturalization Service --
 and used that to obtain a search warrant of the relatives' Little Havana home.

 It was unclear, however, what Sharpstein hopes to accomplish. In criminal cases,
 illegal searches can lead to suppression of evidence, such as seized drugs, against
 a defendant. No one has been charged with crimes in the Elian case.

 Sharpstein, however, said the relatives may ask the court to appoint an independent
 legal  guardian to represent Elian, arguing that the tactics used by the government
 during the  armed raid would prove ''offensive'' to the appellate judges.

 Last week, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered
 the boy to remain in the country during the case, but allowed the government to
 decide with whom the boy should live.

 The relatives' lawyers fear that Elian's father, having regained custody of his son,
 will try to have the appeal dismissed by saying the child has no interest in
 applying for asylum. A guardian, in theory, could apply on Elian's behalf.

 ''Hopefully, we can at least slow down the freight train to Cuba,'' Sharpstein said.

 But in its response, the government said Reno properly rejected three other
 asylum applications filed by Elian's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez. The relatives
 have argued that asylum law allows ''any alien,'' no matter the age, to apply.

 That literal reading, which the appeals judges in their order last week seemed to
 find persuasive, is mistaken, the government contends: The law allows the
 attorney general wide latitude in determining who can get asylum. The attorney
 general can override a parent's objections, the brief argues, only when the child
 has the intellectual capacity to understand what he or she is applying for -- and
 Elian as a 6-year-old does not.

 ''The question here is not whether Elian will be allowed to apply for some minor
 benefit against his father's wishes,'' the brief reads. ''This is a question of whether
 a 6-year-old will live in another country apart from his father's.''

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald