Murder Trial of Robert Kennedy Nephew Will Be Open to Public
STAMFORD, Conn. — A judge’s ruling Friday will allow the media in the courtroom when a 39-year-old nephew of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is arraigned as a juvenile on charges he murdered a 15-year-old girl in 1975.
Judge Maureen Dennis’ decision came in response to news media requests to open the juvenile proceeding to the public.
Michael Skakel is charged as a juvenile in the case because he was 15 when his Greenwich neighbor Martha Moxley was bludgeoned and stabbed to death.
The judge agreed with the news organizations that Skakel had waived his juvenile confidentiality rights because he is an adult and because his name and the charges against him were made public by his own attorney.
Attorney Michael Sherman filed an affidavit last month in which Skakel says he does not object to holding the hearings in public. Sherman said Skakel wants the proceeding open so the public can hear his side of the story.
The arraignment, scheduled for Tuesday, will be moved from a juvenile courtroom to Stamford Superior Court.
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