European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 13, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday december 13,1991 the stars and stripes Page 9kennedy Smith trial Smith acquittal called Kennedy Victory by Jonathan Yenkin cd. Quot Quot by Jonathan Yenkin the associated press a it on 77 experts and average citizens alike said William Kennedy Smiths acquittal could return some Luster to the Kennedy family a tarnished image but discourage women from bringing charges of Date rape. In Boston the Home base of the Kennedy clan people clustered around television sets wednesday to watch the jury pronounce Smith innocent of rape. A what we have Learned and relearned and relearned is when a woman charges a Man with rape it is she who goes on trial a said Ellen Convisser president of the National organization for women in Massachusetts. But or. Mildred Jefferson a Boston University medical school professor said the verdict shows women can to behave in any reckless and ill advised Way and then draw a cloak of puritanical indignation by crying a rape when the consequences Are  a a ?.isan Estrich a Law professor at the University of California at los Angeles and herself a former rape victim said she was a absolutely certain Smith would be acquitted. A once the judge decided to exclude the evidence trom the three other women a she said a it was Clear there was no supporting evidence in this  judge Mary Lupo would t allow testimony from three other women who had accused Smith of attacking them. In Palm Beach Fla., where Smith met his accuser a 30-year-old woman from nearby Jupiter said they done to expect the Kennedy to rejoin the social scene soon. Quot you la never spot a Kennedy again in this bar a said Patron Reva Kogan. At Bostons Bull and Finch pub the setting for the to sitcom cheers some patrons thought Smith was wrongly accused. Quot in be always liked the Kennedy. The trial showed v that he As a Kennedy was As human As anyone else Quot said Jim Leafy of Worcester. Some observers said the outcome would help erase a stain on the family a name. A a there a no question that since the family itself was on trial As Well As Willie Smith his Victory is a Victory for the family As Well a said Doris Kearns Goodwin a Kennedy biographer. The proceedings had caused political damage for Smith s Uncle sen. Edward Kennedy d-mass., who accompanied his Nephew to a bar that night. But Paul Watanabe a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts at Boston said the Juty s verdict would bring the senators supporters Back into the fold. A a acne a spa aking to reporters briefly outside the John f. Kennedy Federal building in downtown Boston said he was Quot gratified by the verdict. L re ways believed that after All the facts were in that will would be found innocent a Kennedy said. Prosecutor Moira la sell left photo after the verdict acquitting William Kennedy Smith of sexual assault defense attorney Roy Black right photo Deu Cri his final  rip Lasch for abysmal prosecution Washington apr prominent defense lawyers Are sharply critical of the prosecution in the William Kennedy Smith trial. One lawyer called it abysmal. They View the Speed with which the Palm Beach county jury came Back with an acquittal As an indictment of How the prosecutor handled the Case. A she did an awful Job in every respect a said Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz speaking of assistant state attorney Moira Lasch. A the jury a Speed Means the jurors decided the Case not on reasonable doubt but on innocence. They found him to be  Jeffrey s. Weiner of Miami president of the National association of criminal defense lawyers said that throughout the trial he was confident Smith would be acquitted. A i was absolutely positive when the jury announced it had reached a verdict within 90 minutes. That was a Complete rejection of the states decision to charge and try will Smith a he said. A the Speed with which this jury verdict was reached should Send a Clear message to other prosecutors that they should consider All options before deciding to destroy a persons life a Weiner said. A the prosecution did not have a  new York lawyer Bany Slotnick whose clients have included subway gunman Bernhard Goetz called Laschi a performance  a i watched the whole thing on television and her problem started in jury selection and ended in her summation a Slotnick said. A her Cross examination of Smith was perhaps the worst in be Ever seen. He dominated her Cross examination because of her questions. He reinforced his  new York lawyer Ira London also pointed to Laschi a Cross examination of Smith calling it Quot professionally disappointing unfocused and  a fall lawyers learn Early on that Cross examination is a process where you attempt to control the witness. You do not do that with multiple question questions because they Are going to let the witness go All Over the place wherever he wants to go a London said. London said Lasch appeared to be Reading Many of her questions from a card and not listening to the answers before she asked her next question. Smith s accuser angry but not regretful West Palm Beach Fla. A the woman who accused William Kennedy Smith of rape is angry that he was acquitted but believes his trial was fair and has no regrets about bringing the charges. The woman said in a statement released by her lawyer wednesday that she Drew strength through the eight month ordeal from Calls and letters from crime victims especially a from women who have suffered the torturous degradation of  a despite the enormous personal Price i do not for one moment regret the course of action i have pursued a she said. A fall that 1 have endured is Worth it if i make it easier for one woman to make what for me was the Only Choice 1 could so that i could look at myself in the Mirror and most importantly face my 2-year-old daughter As she grows  her lawyer David Roth  say what the woman planned to do now. But unlike Many other principals in the Case she wont sell her Story he said. A she will accept no compensation from any source whatsoever for her Story a said Roth adding that she had received numerous offers. A fall offers have been summarily  Roth said he and the woman agreed the trial was fair. My client respected the system she worked within the system and the jury has spoken a Roth said. However a not guilty verdict does not equate to innocence. A a she is angry and upset. In a angry. We re All angry her Stepfather told the new York daily news. The woman was 29 when she reported that Smith raped her at the Seaside Kennedy estate on March 30. Smith took the stand to deny her claims and described her As a a real  a jury took about an hour wednesday to find him innocent of sexual Battery and Battery