Kennedy Trial to Start Monday Following Completion of Jury Selection
Jury selection was completed this week for the driving while ability impaired trial of Kerry Kennedy, which is scheduled to begin with opening statements in county court in White Plains on Monday.
A jury consisting of four men and two women was empanelled by Judge Robert Neary following a day-long session on Thursday. Two alternates were also selected. Only six jurors are needed because the charge is a misdemeanor.
Kennedy was arrested in July 2012 in Armonk after she was involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer on I-684. Her defense team has argued that she accidentally took the sleeping pill Ambien instead of her thyroid medication as the cause for her impaired condition the morning of the accident.
She got off the interstate at the Armonk exit with her damaged car and was stopped a short time later by a North Castle police officer. Kennedy failed a field sobriety test and was charged.
During a previous pre-trial appearance Kennedy had received permission from the judge to skip jury selection since she was going to be abroad. She is expected to be in the courtroom for the start of the trial.
The trial was originally scheduled to be held at the North Castle Justice Court at town hall but the venue was changed after the facility was deemed to be inadequate to host a trial that is expected to draw sizeable media coverage and interest from the public.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
