Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : 2 Lawyers in Smith Rape Case Resign

Two lawyers defending William Kennedy Smith against charges that he raped a woman at the Kennedy family’s Palm Beach, Fla., estate pulled out of the case and were replaced by a veteran Miami criminal defense lawyer. The lawyers, Herbert J. Miller Jr., a longtime counsel for Smith’s uncle, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), and Miller’s partner, Randall J. Turk, refused to disclose their reasons for withdrawing. But a source close to the matter indicated that differences with the client over strategy were involved. The replacement attorney, Roy Black, has represented a number of high-profile Miami defendants, including a police officer who fatally shot a black motorcycle rider and a bank president accused of money laundering and bribery.