NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Judge Delays Seating Smith Rape Case Jury

The judge in William Kennedy Smith’s trial put off seating a jury until Dec. 2, saying she was concerned about outside pressures that could taint the jury in the highly publicized rape case. Circuit Judge Mary Lupo told the remaining 37 prospective jurors that she did not want to have them sequestered during Thanksgiving next week. She also said she did not want the six-person jury identified so long before trial testimony begins and that opening statements would still begin Dec. 2. One prospective juror was excused after complaining that she had been deluged with telephone calls, including a possible gift offer. Smith, the 31-year-old nephew of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), has been accused of raping a 30-year-old woman on March 30 at the Kennedy family’s Palm Beach, Fla., estate.