SPIN POLARIZATION OF THE 4d-PHOTOELECTRONS OF I$_2$-MOLECULES AFTER EXCITATION BY LINEARLY AND CIRCULARLY POLARIZED RADIATION B. Schmidtke$^\ast$, M. Drescher$^\ast$, U. Heinzmann$^\ast$, G. Snell$^\sharp$, J. Viefhaus$^\ddag$, and U. Becker$^\ddag$ $^\ast$Universitaet Bielefeld, Fakultaet fuer Physik, Postfach 100131, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany $^\sharp$Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., Berkeley, CA 94720 USA $^\ddag$Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195 Berlin, Germany First spin polarization data on 4d-photoelectrons of the I$_2$ molecule is reported. The similarity of both measured spin polarization components with data from xenon supports a pronounced atomic character of the I$_2$-4d shell.