NEW ORLEANS, La., March 17--A three-judge Criminal District Court ruled unanimously today that Clay L. Shaw, a wealthy retired business executive, should stand trial on a charge of conspiring to murder President John F. Kennedy.

The ruling followed a four-day preliminary hearing requested by District Attorney Jim Garrison.

The highlight of the hearing was Perry R. Russo's testimony that he had heard Shaw, Lee Harvey Oswald, and David W. Ferrie plotting in September 1963 to assassinate Kennedy.

The Warren Commission report, which said that Oswald had acted alone, was not admitted as evidence in the hearing after Judge Bernard Bagert said it was "fraught with hearsay."

Shaw called Garrison's charge "fantastic" and denied having any part in a conspiracy. U.S. Attorney General Ramsay Clark said the FBI had cleared Shaw of any link to the Kennedy assassination.