European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 9, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse The trial of the decade by John Hicks United press International a third generation member of whal some Call America s Royal family went on trial for rape last week in a courtroom drama that has captured attention around the world. Consider what distinguishes this Case from the thousands of rape cases brought to trial each year a the accused William Kennedy Smith 31, is a recent medical school graduate and son of Jean Kennedy Smith one of the nine children of financier Joseph p. Kennedy. Her siblings include the late president Kennedy Robert Kennedy Eunice Kennedy Shriver wife of Sargent shr Verand Patricia Kennedy Lawford widow of actor Peter Lawford. A William Smith s Uncle is sen. Edward Kennedy a Mas who is controversial in his own right and figures prominently during the night of the alleged rape. In the minds of some people the family that is arguably America s most glamorous will be on trial. A Florida s Liberal open records Laws have allowed full press coverage of the allegations investigations and Legal Maneu vers of the Case. The tabloid press especially has rushed to cover matters in detail whenever they touched on sex drugs wealth and Palm Beach nightlife. A each Side has accused the other of exploiting the Media to its advantage. Both have attempted to move the trial to another location. A the trial is among the first to be telecast in its entirety on a new National Cable television network court to and will certainly be viewed by More people than any previous trial in history. A the Case centers on charges of Quot Dale rape Quot the subject of a flurry of published studies and articles. The trial is stimulating an intense National dialogue in the same Way the recent Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings to the supreme court fostered dialogue on sexual harassment. The trial climaxes a drama that began eight months ago on easter weekend when Smith brought a woman Home from a bar and had sex with her. Smiths attorneys argue the sex was consensual. Prosecutors Are trying to prove he raped her. If the jury convicts Smith he will face up to 15 years in prison. Some of the evidence being presented in the crowded the jury of six and three alternates watch pretrial proceedings at the Palm Beach county courthouse. Courtroom on the fourth floor of the nondescript Palm Beach county courthouse is physical the alleged victim s clothing some medical records. But most evidence is from the testimony of three sets of witnesses 1. The principals the alleged victim who is a 30-year-old Jupiter fla., woman and the stepdaughter of a wealthy Ohio tire manufacturer and Smith should he elect to testify in his own defense. 2. Supporting cast the people who were with Smith and the woman before and after the incident. 3. A third group of witnesses being called by both sides to attack the credibility of the other witnesses. There also Are Many expert witnesses testifying about such things As what the weather was like that night and what types of grass and Sand were found on the woman s clothing. The alleged rape and surrounding events took place Good Friday March 29, and Early saturday March 30, at two Palm Beach locations the a bar pronounced of bar and the Kennedy estate. On the estate is a rambling Oceanside Villa that was once the Winter Home of Joseph p. And Rose Kennedy. It now is owned by a family Trust and operated on a time share basis for the Kennedy siblings. In testimony and sworn depositions sen. Ted Kennedy and his son Patrick described what happened the night of March 29. After dinner at the Kennedy House William his sister Amanda his Cousin Patrick Kennedy and three friends went to Lulu a another bar for a drink. After an hour William and Patrick excused themselves returned to the bedroom they shared at the Kennedy House and retired around Midnight. A few minutes later Ted Kennedy came to their room they talked for a few minutes then decided to go to the posh a bar located in a Low Rise office Complex with Valet parking but no sign outside. In her testimony and depositions Anne Mercer a Friend of the woman who alleges the rape described How they happened to be at a bar that night. Mercer provided the first Surprise of the trial when she acknowledged receiving $40,000 for two interviews about the events that night. She admitted she Quot embellished her descriptions in those interviews and also retracted some earlier statements. Mercer has said she and the alleged rape victim had been casual acquaintances since meeting at a wedding Shower for a Mutual Friend a year earlier they often talked about going out together but the plans always Tell through a until Good Friday. Anne hoped the two would go to a Friend s House for a quiet night of socializing but when the woman arrived at has the Media gone too far by Mitchell Landsberg associated press writer a Young California tourist grasped fleeting Fame outside the William Kennedy Smith rape trial after he bought a to shirt making Light of the Case. Quot i just think this shirt expresses the joke this trial is Quot Darrin Jones of Santa Rosa announced monday to some of the cameras and notebooks surging and Bobbing around him. Quot Why Are we making such a big Deal out of it Quot Why indeed it is a question that probably has been asked at some Point by nearly every reporter and photographer covering the trial a All 200 or More plus at least As Many technicians producers engineers and other support personnel needed in this electronic age they Are Here after All to cover a rape trial not a mass murder Case not a political convention not a War or a Hurricane. They have brought 25 or so Mobile Homes equipped a with satellite dishes to beam to stories around the world the trailers sit in a parking lot just North of the courthouse that is filled with the rumble and smell of diesel generators and the Bustle of people with important business to do. They have filled hotels in Palm Beach that usually Cater to the Rich and pampered and charge accordingly. They have brought with them hundreds of computers dozens of cellular phones Miles of Cable and mountains of paper. They have spent hours in wait for a Mere glimpse of the defendant who walked briskly and silently past a microphone stand that had been conveniently and hopefully placed for his use just outside the courthouse Entrance. Is it Worth it most people in the Media a who granted have some self interest in this a say yes. They say the Public is being served albeit in sometimes mysterious ways Quot i think its Worth it because the Public interest is there Quot said Joe Nicholson of the new York Post a Veteran trial reporter who is covering the Smith Case. Quot and also because i think this Story is Likely to define the social Standard of acquaintance or Date rape. Quot at the same time Quot he added Quot some members of the Media have definitely sailed of the end of the world Quot there is general agreement about Why the Smith trial has attracted so much attention briefly put. It involves sex wealth and Fame. More to the Point it involves the Kennedy family. The Kennedy mystique has drawn reporters from Large newspapers and to stations across the United states and from England France Canada Australia and Sweden among other countries. Quot it is the Kennedy name of course Quot said Leif Josefsson one of two swedish newspaper reporters covering the trial he writes for the Stockholm daily afto bladet. Quot swedes Are really into the Royal family of Sweden and i think they Teel that since the 60s, the Kennedy Are sort of a sub Royal family of America Quot added his compatriot Gunnar Nordstrom who writes for expressed. The two swedes weren t among the 16 journalists granted Access to the courtroom nor were they among the 150 who were issued passes to a vast press room on the floor below they stood in the sultry sunlight on the Brick Plaza outside the courthouse milling about with the camera Crews who have made Camp there. Across the Street the new court to Channel offered outcast reporters a Refuge to watch televised coverage of the trial. Court to s editor in chief Steven Brill also offered a defense of the overwhelming press coverage the Smith trial he said offers the Opportunity to a Tough prosecutor for a Tough Case William Kennedy Smith 31, in the courtroom. Her House dressed up Anne decided to join her for a night on the town. They went to Renato s restaurant for dinner there they were joined by Annex a Boyfriend Chuck Desiderio whose father owns Renato a and arrived at a bar sometime after Midnight. The Kennedy men arrived about 12 30 a m and ordered drinks a chivas regal and soda for Ted a Ginger ale for Patrick. William gravitated toward the dance floor a few minutes later he brought a woman Back and introduced her to his Cousin and Uncle. Then the couple wandered off. Quot Patrick Kennedy also began to walk around and met a woman Michelle Cassone. He asked her to dance. She politely declined. While it in t Clear when the principals in the drama later converged at a table near the dance floor William the woman Anne Mercer Patrick and Ted. William and the woman left the table for the dance floor. Anne and Ted had a Brief but heated Exchange accusing each other of being discourteous. Ted and Patrick decided to leave the bar. As they were about to go Cassone changed her mind continued on Page 16 educate americans about Quot a lot of very important and very significant Legal do those ends justify the Means no said Ben Bagdikian a professor emeritus of journalism at the University of California at Berkeley who has watched the trial coverage with alarm from afar. I think this is a perfect demonstration of overkill Quot Bagdikian said. He added that its defenders Are confusing Quot self indulgent pandering with serious journalism with a capital s and a capital another journalism professor Stephen Isaacs of Columbia University disagreed at least slightly. The William Kennedy Smith trial is one of the cases where it s pack journalism at its worst a or at its Best Quot he said. Quot you be got to say to yourself my god what a waste of labor but at the same time. I think the whole Issue of William Kennedy Smith has been very very Good for America because it focused attention on a number of things that have been sort of lying there quietly Quot specifically Isaacs mentioned Date rape and the Issue o whether the Media should name rape victims. Is it Quality journalism Quot it has nothing to do with the Quality of journalism a Isaacs said. Quot it has to do with the incidental byproduct that in my scheme of things can sometimes be More by Timothy Clifford new Day there s no denying it Moira Lasch. The hard As nails Lead prosecutor in the William Kennedy Smith rape trial once tried to make a joke it was t much of a joke and it was t particularly funny but. Considering the source it was a Surprise. Lasch s Only Public attempt at humor in seven month Long Case is right there on Page 26 of Palm Beach bartender Anthony Liott s oct. 18 deposition it came As the defense was questioning Liott about whether bartenders sometimes fib to bar patrons Liott said they do and offered that if the defense attorney were sitting in the bar and some tourists came in and asked it there were movie stars in the place Quot i might look at you prosecutor Moira Lasch and husband Mark. And Tell them that you Aie Telly Savalas Quot and Lasch. With the Blond hair and finely Cut Loat wies that made her a one time Saks fifth Avenue Model it erupts to say. Quot meryl Streep Quot Liott looks at her a perhaps just a bit battled and responds Quot whatever Quot. That s it a Oke trom the Brittle Earnest Peison who demanded that Palm Beach county circuit judge Mary e Lupo excuse herself Tom the Case Tor among other Ica sons. The Edge s Quot negative facial expressions. I e. Scowling glaring and frowning Quot but those who know Lasch. Say the Public Persona can be misleading Quot she a not exactly the person we see in Youit she has a sense of humor she s not a robot Type said Edward o Hara a Palm Beach Dolensek attorney who once handled Public defender cases against Lasch Lasch. Who is married has been a prosecutor since 1978 except for a Brief stint in private practice seven years ago a graduate of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie n y., and University of Maryland Law school in Baltimore she is a vegetarian known Tor an Early to bed Early to use lifestyle no Chiet of the Palm Beach county state attorney s felony division. Lasch picks her cases and earns $71.000 a year and by All accounts she earns her Money by winning tie Tough cases. In 1977, Lasch was named Florida s prosecutor of the year Tor winning a conviction in tie Case of boatyard owner who paid to have his wife killed a Case that saw the defendant then try to hire someone to kill Lasch she turned Down an Otter of police Protection Quot she a the quietest thing Quot Palm Beach detente attorney Robert Foley said Quot she a a hard Little son of a Bitch and an intelligent at the office friends warily report Lasch is Given in the Blunt dialect of Street cops known to talk about a defendant As. Quot the did this the did that Quot and there Are flashes of humor in her past after a tape defendant spit on her in court Lasch showed up in a lame oat the next Day when the accused rapist called her a a pointy nosed Honky White Bitch Quot Lasch shot Back i do not have a pointy Black for the defense by Timothy Clifford new Day is anyone As Nice As people say Roy Black is the Lead lawyer for William Kennedy Smith continually collects such gentle accolades As gracious Folksy and affable along with the kindly nickname of Quot the professor for his courtroom Demeanour. During the weeks of jury selection last month for example the 46-year-old attorney seemingly sincerely confided to each prospective juror Quot almost everyone who comes out Here is a Little bit nervous and you re probably the same Way. And i will Tell you that i Don t always appear that Way but i m a Little nervous and to those who suspect this to be nothing but Good old boy courtroom tactics Blacks friends Point out that the avid football fan not Only refuses to boo his beloved dolphins no matter How Many games Are fumbled away but becomes upset when others in the crowd jeer his favourites that s just his personality Quot explained Frank Furci one of Black s Law partners. Quot it amazes me that somebody can be that genuinely Nice and still be such a Good defense but Don t doubt Blacks belly Tor winning a even the angriest cases involving police officers that sparked controversy in Miami s ethnic communities in 1984, Black defended Luis Alvarez a Young Miami police officer charged with manslaughter for shooting a Black Man to death during an arrest. Riots followed the incident Alvarez was acquitted nearly two years ago Black represented another latino police officer William Lozano who was charged with manslaughter stemming from the deaths of a Black motorcyclist and his passenger. Lozano was convicted but the verdict was overturned on Appeal How much Black the married father of one child and the rest of the defense team is being paid remains a secret although sources close to the Kennedy Lammly say the total Bill is not expected to lop a halt i i lion dollars As Miami defense attorney James Jay Hogan one of Black s longtime friends observed Quot what s his weakness setting tees Quot not much of a Surprise considering that Black Aller scoring highest in the 1970 Florida bar examination Attar graduating irom University of Miami undergraduate and Law school became a Public defender for five years fascinated by courtroom Battles and tactics the tall grading lawyer also talks fondly Aboul the importance of the defense team s Esprit de corps and said David Russell an attorney who has occasionally worked with Black Over the past 10 years Quot you will not see a desk Banger at the defense table and he s absolutely just As effective because he s a very very Clever lawyer who knows How to win without being rude a to anyone Quot Roy Black during Hla opening statement. Page 14 the stars and stripes monday december 9, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 15
