Denver Post

Accuser's attorneys fire back
By Bob Berwyn
Special to The
Denver Post

Friday, September 26, 2003 - A center for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence and the woman who is accusing Kobe Bryant of sexual assault want to quash efforts by Bryant's defense team to review notes and other records taken by a victim's advocate.

Bryant attorneys Hal Haddon and Pamela Mackey this month issued a subpoena for those records, as well as training manuals and any other notes taken in connection with the Bryant investigation.

But in separate motions Wednesday and Thursday to quash the subpoenas, attorneys for the woman and The Resource Center of Eagle County asked the court to reject the defense's request, claiming the notes of any conversations between advocates at the center and the alleged victim are "expressly privileged by statute and case law."

"The subpoena issued is merely another discovery attempt from the defendant for information to which they are not entitled," wrote Avon attorney John Clune, an attorney for the accuser.

In the center's motion to quash, Inga Haagenson Causey, attorney for the resource center, wrote that the accuser has not waived her right to keep such records confidential.

The sexual assault charges against Bryant, a 25-year-old NBA all-star, stem from a June 30 encounter at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera near Edwards, where he was staying while undergoing knee surgery. The Eagle County woman, at the time an employee at the lodge, subsequently said Bryant sexually assaulted her. Bryant has said he had consensual sex with the woman.

Bryant's attorneys also have asked the court to rule whether the woman has waived privacy rights to other medical records, including those kept at a student clinic at the University of Northern Colorado, where she was previously enrolled as a student.

Causey on Thursday would not comment on the motions. Bryant's attorneys did not return calls asking for comment. The District Attorney's office also declined comment.

The legal sparring precedes an Oct. 9 preliminary hearing in Eagle County District Court, when Judge Frederick Gannett will decide whether Bryant should stand trial. According to court filings by the D.A.'s office, an Eagle County Sheriff's Office detective will take the stand, detailing the case against Bryant. The prosecution also will present a recorded interview with Bryant, a videotaped interview with the woman, photographs of her alleged injuries and a description of their significance provided by a sexual-assault nurse.