Kennedy Hospital Trial Date Set for October
Douglas Kennedy will face a jury in October.
In Mt. Kisco Village Court on Thursday night, Mount Kisco Village Justice John Donohue announced that Kennedy’s trial on assault charges against two nurses will begin on October 22 at 9:30 a.m.
Donohue also ruled that Northern Westchester Hospital must provide Kennedy’s team with access to the hospital’s policy on parents leaving with their baby and going outside with it.
Kennedy, a son of the late Robert Kennedy, is accused of twisting the arm of one nurse and kicking another in the pelvic area when they tried to stop him from taking his newborn son outside for fresh air without proper authorization on January 7.
An order of protection against the nurses was extended until February 7, 2013.
Outside the courthouse, members of the New York State Nurses Association chanted “Kennedy, Kennedy. Can’t You See? Assaulting a Nurse is a Felony.”
Kennedy, who had previously exited through a separate entrance, left in the main entrance and walked by the nurses as they chanted at him.
“It is okay for a father to want to be with his son,” Kennedy, accompanied by his wife, said. “Nobody should try to grab a baby from its father.”
Also outside the courtroom, Kennedy’s attorney Robert Gottlieb said Kennedy did anything wrong and there would be no talk of a plea bargain or settlement.
“The only way to resolve this is for the charges to be dismissed,” Gottlieb said. “There was no crime committed.”
Two members of the nurses’ association, neither of whom work for Northern Westchester Hospital also spoke outside the courthouse.
“It is sick to kick,” Eileen Letzeiser, who works for Westchester Medical Center, said. “Why are you kicking a nurse when she is doing her job?”
Nany Joly, another nurse, said the nurses will be there to make sure justice is served.
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Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
