Posted on 02/28/2014 12:07:54 PM PST by SeekAndFind
WHITE PLAINS — After nearly 20 months of buildup, the misdemeanor trial of Kerry Kennedy ended on Friday in a breakneck blur, as jurors took one hour to find her not guilty of driving under the influence of a drug.
The five-day trial, which featured a riveting turn on the witness stand by Ms. Kennedy, 54, was centered on an act that neither she nor prosecutors dispute: On July 13, 2012, she drove her Lexus S.U.V. erratically after swallowing Zolpidem, a generic form of the sleep medication Ambien. She sideswiped a tractor-trailer on a highway in Westchester County before she was found, slumped over her steering wheel, her car stalled on a local road.
Ms. Kennedy has maintained that she took the pill accidentally, mistaking it for medication she took for a thyroid condition. She testified on Wednesday that she did not realize her mistake until well after the accident.
When the verdict was announced, some of her friends and family members seated behind her, which included her 85-year-old mother, Ethel Kennedy, cheered and clapped. Ms. Kennedy hugged one of her lawyers, William I. Aronwald, and patted the back of the other, Gerald B. Lefcourt. And as people filed out of the courtroom, Ms. Kennedy said she bore no ill will to the prosecutors who brought the case.
“To tell you the truth, anger is the last feeling I have right now,” she said. “I’m full of gratitude.”
The issue at trial was whether Ms. Kennedy, the former wife of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, should have been aware that she was feeling the drug’s soporific effects, as she was swerving and driving erratically, and stopped the car.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Was there ever any doubt? This isn’t a citizen; it’s a KENNEDY!
Your comment has a certain cadence, bounce, truth to it that I like.
This is just proof that this family can still drive in ways that can, and did, kill people and still get away with it.
LOL, well put. A higher power does remind them once in awhile that they don’t walk or water...or drive or fly over it.
>>If you haven’t had any experience with Ambien,,,,and if she did mistakenly take it instead of her other medicine,,,,I can understand. Ambien made me sleepwalk, sleep cook, sleep watch a tv that wasn’t turned on, etc..I almost burnt my house down while taking that cr@p! My doc didn’t believe me back then, but due to problems some of his other patients have had, and due to the exposure given by many, he believes now. There are reports from cops about sleep driving and they all involve that cr@p drug, Ambien!<<
I hate to say it, but I kind of agree with this verdict. Why would anyone take an Ambien in the morning on purpose?
“Why would anyone take an Ambien in the morning on purpose?”
Good point! You don’t get high taking Ambien. It’s an hypnotic. You get put to sleep.
Are you serious?
Was she driving while impaired? Yes!
Guilty!
I had an emperience with Ambien, too. A shrink told me that breaking one in half is a no-no. If there’s no “break line” then it’s going to cause you problems. The only time I had a problem was when I took half of a pill. It was a bad night.
Really good/snarkey lawyer to come up with that scenario.
Really good/snarkey lawyer to come up with that scenario. And how did she know she “accidentally took the ambien” until later?
I wouldn't have wanted to be the prosecutor in this case. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
What I found interesting about this case is that everyone knew she was Kerry Kennedy, but most media reports I read never mentioned that she was the ex-wife of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Suprise, suprise, suprise!!
And if it were you or I??
I tried ambien two times, and that was enough to last me a life time. Within 10 min of taking one pill, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t do a thing. I’m so glad I was in bed at the time, because that was the only safe place to be. AND, it left me horribly hung over the next day right into early evening.
If a person does a lot of traveling, they tend to keep all of their meds with them. It’s not difficult to get distracted, and take the wrong med.
Just because she’s a Kennedy Makes her neither guilty nor innocent without a trial. Apparently, in my opinion, that’s why she took the trouble to go through a trial rather an admit guilt..which may have been a lie for her. She’s aware of the family reputation, and felt great need to absolve herself of past family ineptitude and law breaking.
The Kennedy’s don’t hold power like they used to. I wonder if the DA decided that since she is a big name, he was going to bust chops and drag that big name through the mud.
Apparently the jury didn’t buy into it.
I take ambien and have absolutely no problem with it. Doesn’t make me do any crazy things nor does it make me not remember things. I take the strongest does which is 12.5 and I’m a woman. It helps me get 4 hours of sleep which I would never get without it. I get up every morning at 6 and work out for 2 hours. Never sleepy driving the car and don’t fall asleep during the day.
I have never “mistakenly” taken it. It is her responsibility to make sure she takes the right drug. She got away with it because she’s a Kennedy.
I bless the people who make it.
I don't doubt it. Have heard many stories. We're very careful about prescription meds - some are very useful and others seem not worth the risks and side effects.
Because they are coated to be “timed release”, breaking the coating makes it all happen at once. Same for any other pill. If not scored then no cutting it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.