WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. William Kennedy Smith, saying he wanted to look the judge in the eye, appeared in court Friday to plead not guilty to charges that he raped a woman at the Kennedy family's oceanfront estate in Palm Beach.

Smith was not required to appear at the arraignment, where Circuit Judge Mary Lupo scheduled a trial date for Aug. 5 and rejected the prosecutor's attempt to keep two Washington lawyers off the defense team.

"It was important that I come down and look at the judge in the eye and tell her I'm not guilty, and I did that," Smith said to reporters. He declined to answer ...

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