William Kennedy Smith rape trial returns to TV in new documentary

One of South Florida’s most highlypublicized court dramas is heading back to TV.

The 1991 trial of William Kennedy Smith is the focus of a three-week documentary called “Scandalous: The Trial of William Kennedy Smith.” It debuts 8 p.m. Sundayon the Fox News Channel.

Using records, statements and news footage, the documentary revisits the case of Jupiter resident Patricia Bowman, who accused Smith of rape on the night of March 30, 1991.

Televised live across the country, the court hearings became a media circus and one of the most watched TV court dramas.

“It sometimes looks more like a football game than news event...The Smith trial could be the equivalent of the Super Bowl,” said a TV reporter in the documentary which showed packs of TV news vans and reporters outside the West Palm Beach courthouse.

“This trial was perfect for TV of course, it had sex, the Kennedys,” said Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, in the documentary.

At the time, Smith was a 30-year-old medical student accused of raping the 29-year-old Bowman at his family’s Kennedy Compound in Palm Beach. Smith is the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and senator Ted Kennedy.

On March 29, 1991, Smith had gone out with his uncle and cousin Patrick Kennedy in Palm Beach, according to the Sun Sentinel news stories at the time. They went to the Au Bar night spot where Smith met Bowman, who later accompanied him to his family’s estate. The pair walked on the beach where he allegedly tackled and sexually assaulted her. During the trial, Smith said he had consensual sex with her.

The trial lasted 10 days, and after deliberating for 77 minutes, the jury found Smith not guilty on Dec. 11, 1991.

The documentary will also feature new interviews with Mark Mirkin, Smith’s former roommate at Duke University, Denny Abbott, who worked for Palm Beach County Victim Services, and Jay Howell, Bowman’s attorney at the time, according to Fox News Channel.

The director’s cuts of each of the three episodes will be available for download on the network’s on- demand streaming service, https://nation.foxnews.com

KATHY WILLENS/AP John F. Kennedy Jr., left, left the Palm Beach County Court Nov. 18, 1991 with his cousin William Kennedy Smith, who was on trial for rape. A new Fox News Channel documentary looks back on the 10-day trial in West Palm Beach.