  To lowest order in the coupling strength, the spin-orbit coupling in quantum
dots results in a spin-dependent Aharonov-Bohm flux. This flux decouples the
spin-up and -down random matrix theory ensembles of the quantum dot. We employ
this ensemble and find significant changes in the distribution of the Coulomb
blockade peak height, in particular a decrease of the width of the
distribution. The puzzling disagreement between standard random matrix theory
and the experimental distributions by Patel et al. might possibly be attributed
to these spin-orbit effects.
