Caroline Kennedy Jury Duty: JFK's Only Surviving Child, Potential U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Chosen As Juror in NYC Drug Case

By

Caroline Kennedy will sit on a New York City jury for the trial of a man accused of dealing crack cocaine, the Associated Press reported. She was selected on Monday to serve as a juror at Nelson Chatman's trial in state Surpreme Court in Manhattan.

Kennedy, the only surviving child of the 35th President of the U.S. Interestingly, enough, she did not mention whether any member any member of her family had been a victim of a crime.

When asked if she or a family member had close ties to law enforcement, Kennedy said her brother once worked as an assistant district attorney.

"I have not been convicted of a crime," Kennedy said during jury selection at the Centre St. courthouse.

"My name is Caroline Kennedy," she told the other jurors. "I've lived at my present address for 25 years. I live with my husband and two grown children. I have a law degree and I'm an author," Kennedy said.

The case Kennedy is a juror for involves 31-year-old Nelson Chaptman, who is fighting felony charges of selling crack. He was busted on December 1 on suspicion of dealing drug near the corner of E. 129th St. and Lexington Avenue in East Harlem.

Prosecutor Robert Wainright asked Kennedy if she would be able to find Chatman guilty beyond reasonable doubt if the charges are proven.

"Yes," she said.

Kennedy is being vetted by the Obama administration as a potential choice for U.S. Ambassador to China. She is the author of at least seven books.

© 2026 Lawyer Herald All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Discussion
More News
Karen Kay Hogan

Texas Attorney Pleads Guilty To Stealing $540K From Six Children Whose Parents Died in Murder-Suicide

Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby To Pay Sexual Assault Accuser $19M After Jury Finds Disgraced Comedian Guilty of Crime

Clyde Edwin Hedrick

Prime Suspect in 'Texas Killing Fields' Murders Dies While on Parole, Man Was Never Charged in the Case

Suspects

DOJ Seeks To Drop Charges Against Two Officers Accused of Falsifying Search Warrant in Breonna Taylor's Case