This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Mount Kisco, N.Y. • A son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was acting on instinct when he kicked a maternity- ward nurse as she tried to stop him from taking his newborn son out of the hospital, a defense lawyer said Monday. In opening statements at Douglas Kennedy's harassment and child- endangerment trial, attorney Celia Gordon said Kennedy "just wanted to take his baby out for some fresh air" on Jan. 7 at Northern Westchester Hospital. Nurses overreacted abrasively, she said, leading to a scuffle. But prosecutor Amy Puerto said Kennedy had to be stopped because he was violating hospital policy. She said he refused to obey the nurses, one of whom was injured.