• MSN
  • Hotmail
  • More
    • Autos
    • My MSN
    • Video
    • Careers & Jobs
    • Personals
    • Weather
    • Delish
    • Quotes
    • White Pages
    • Games
    • Real Estate
    • Wonderwall
    • Horoscopes
    • Shopping
    • Yellow Pages
    • Local Edition
    • Traffic
    • Feedback
    • Maps & Directions
    • Travel
    • Full MSN Index
  • Bing
  • NBCNews.com
  • TODAY
  • Nightly News
  • Rock Center
  • Meet the Press
  • Dateline
  • msnbc
  • Breaking News
  • Newsvine
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Travel
  • Local
  • Weather
Advertise | AdChoices
  • Recommended: Rebirth after the big storm: How one small town dug out, spruced up and lived on
  • Recommended: 'Like a Hollywood movie': Driver survives I-5 bridge collapse into Wash. river
  • Recommended: 'Winter' - maybe even snow - to return for Memorial Day weekend
  • Recommended: Cars, drivers plunge into river after Wash. I-5 bridge collapse

NBC News reporters bring you compelling stories from across the nation. For more US news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

  • ↓ About this blog
  • ↓ Archives
    • Icons Email E-mail updates
    • Icons Twitter Follow on Twitter
    • Icons Feed Subscribe to RSS
  • 20
    Nov
    2012
    3:38pm, EST

    Doug Kennedy acquitted of charges involving taking of newborn son from hospital

    View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

    By Jonathan Dienst, NBCNewYork.com

    Updated at 3:57 p.m. ET: NEW YORK -- A son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy has been acquitted on all counts in a trial stemming from a clash at a Westchester hospital in January. 


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    Douglas Kennedy never took the stand at the trial, in which he faced child endangerment and physical harassment charges after a Jan. 7 scuffle on the maternity floor of Northern Westchester Hospital.  Kennedy was arrested after an altercation with nurses as he tried to remove his newborn from the maternity ward.

    "The Court is not determining whether the defendant's behavior was wise or prudent but only whether the facts and the evidence support a finding that the defendant is guilty of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt," Mount Kisco Town Justice John J. Donohue wrote in his opinion.

    Kennedy was accused of kicking one nurse and twisting the arm of another as they tried to prevent him from taking his newborn son, Anthony, outside.


    The nurses claim Kennedy was violating hospital policy. But a doctor testified that Kennedy had permission to take the baby.

    The judge sided with the defense, noting in his opinion that "It was clear that the defendant was going outside the hospital on an unseasonably warm winter evening for a short period and then returning with the child."

    Donohue also wrote that the nurses placed themselves in Kennedy's way to stop him from leaving the maternity floor with the newborn and at one point tried to remove the child from his arms.

    The judge agreed with the defense that any contact between Kennedy and the nurse was "spontaneous response...to prevent her from removing the baby from his arms."

    The attorney for Anna Margaret and Cari Maleman Luciano,  the nurses who scuffled with Kennedy, said his clients were disappointed with verdict but that it wouldn't impact whether they would proceed with a civil case against Kennedy.

    Kennedy's attorney said the case "should never have seen the light of day."

    "The Westchester DA was wrong to bring the case,."  said attorney Robert Gottlieb. 

    Jonathan Dienst is WNBC's chief investigative reporter.

    133 comments

    The video shows several staff members trying to address his actions. If the rules are you cannot go outside with your newborn, then you must follow those rules. The newborn and mother are patients. They must be checked out before leaving the hospital.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: hospital, kennedy, mount-kisco, nbcnewyork, doug-kennedy

Browse

  • featured,
  • crime,
  • military,
  • weather,
  • california,
  • updated,
  • florida,
  • environment,
  • us-news,
  • shooting,
  • new-york,
  • texas,
  • education,
  • chicago,
  • police,
  • gulf-oil-spill,
  • kari-huus,
  • nbcnewyork,
  • los-angeles,
  • murder,
  • new-jersey,
  • guns,
  • afghanistan,
  • obama,
  • colorado,
  • sandy,
  • trayvon-martin,
  • nbclosangeles,
  • barack-obama,
  • crime-and-courts,
  • politics,
  • gay,
  • veterans,
  • connecticut,
  • fire,
  • arizona,
  • snow,
  • crime-courts,
  • religion
Also
Advertise | AdChoices

Archives

  • 2013
    • May (378)
    • April (608)
    • March (548)
    • February (510)
    • January (563)
  • 2012
    • December (457)
    • November (460)
    • October (477)
    • September (432)
    • August (525)
    • July (519)
    • June (508)
    • May (566)
    • April (538)
    • March (576)
    • February (471)
    • January (417)
  • 2011
    • December (455)
    • November (190)
    • October (9)
    • September (3)
    • August (51)
    • July (8)
    • June (3)
    • May (12)
    • April (5)
    • March (3)
    • February (1)
    • January (8)
  • 2010
    • December (5)
    • November (1)
    • October (2)
    • September (28)
    • August (40)
    • July (35)
    • June (177)
    • May (50)
    • April (9)
    • March (2)
    • February (2)
    • January (4)
  • 2009
    • December (5)
    • November (5)
    • October (2)
    • September (11)
    • August (4)
    • July (12)
    • June (1)
    • May (1)
    • April (1)
    • March (3)
    • February (3)
    • January (2)
  • 2008
    • December (3)
    • November (2)
    • October (6)
    • September (30)
    • August (26)
    • July (10)
    • June (4)
    • May (8)
    • April (13)
    • March (9)
    • February (7)
    • January (6)
  • 2007
    • December (10)
    • November (6)
    • October (22)
    • September (11)

Most Commented

  • Man with ties to Boston bombing suspect admits role in 2011 murders; shot during FBI questioning (2115)
  • Boy Scouts vote to lift ban on gay youth (4257)
  • US judge rules department of 'toughest sheriff' engages in racial profiling (2589)
  • At least 51 killed, including 20 children, as tornado tears through Oklahoma (1809)
  • Scouts await decision on gay membership (2226)
  • Zimmerman defense releases texts about guns, fighting from Trayvon Martin's phone (1748)
  • Jodi Arias pleads for jury to spare her life, says, 'I want everyone's pain to stop' (854)

Other blogs

  • The Body Odd
  • Cosmic Log
  • Red Tape Chronicles
  • PhotoBlog
  • Open Channel

NBCNews.com top stories

3147,10
© 2013 NBCNews.com
  • US news on NBCNews.com
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Help
  • Site map
  • Careers
  • Closed captioning
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertise