Denver Post
Accuser's family sees no plea from Bryant
Friday, November 14, 2003 -
EAGLE - With the family of his accuser looking on from the courtroom gallery for the first time, Kobe Bryant made a brief appearance in district court Thursday to answer a charge of sexual assault, but he did not enter a plea.
The 12-minute hearing focused on setting future court dates and establishing procedures for sharing evidence - a stark contrast from the drama of last month's two-day preliminary hearing. Judge Terry Ruckriegle ordered Bryant to return to Eagle next month. That's when the first of two motions hearings will be conducted to settle unresolved issues over defense access to the 19- year-old woman's medical records and a prosecution complaint of leaks by the defense. Bryant's attorneys, meanwhile, waived the formal advisement of charges in his first appearance in Eagle County district court. "We have decided to follow the court's usual procedure and not enter a plea as of today," defense attorney Pamela Mackey said. "I fully advised my client of the charge against him and the possible penalty." Bryant, 25, an all-star guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, is accused of raping the woman on June 30 at the upscale Lodge & Spa at Cordillera near Edwards, where he was staying while in the area for minor knee surgery. He faces four years to life in prison if convicted. Dressed in a light gray suit and a black polo shirt buttoned to the neck, Bryant sat with his hands clasped on the table in front of him and did not say anything during the proceeding. Although the accuser has not attended any of the hearings, her parents, two brothers and a male cousin sat in the first row of the gallery behind prosecutors. They offered no comment and did not react visibly to seeing Bryant in the courtroom. "The family wanted to be here today to show their support for their daughter," said Krista Flannigan, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office. "They overcame their own personal safety and security issues to come here, and they wanted people to recognize that there actually is a victim, a real- live victim in this case." That message was echoed by advocates for victims of sexual assault, who voiced concerns over how the woman has been treated in the media, including accounts in tabloids and websites that have identified her by name. "We are here to remind everyone to treat this sexual-assault case as the serious crime that it is, rather than as fodder for entertainment," said Robin Finegan, a board member of the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance, during a media briefing outside the courthouse before the hearing. The accuser, Flannigan said, is doing "pretty well" despite all the attention. Inside the packed courtroom, Mackey and prosecutors agreed on estimates that a jury trial in the case would last two to three weeks, but no date was established. Ruckriegle set a Dec. 19 hearing to consider whether: The defense should have access to the woman's medical records, including a report of an incident at the University of Northern Colorado in February in which she was held as a danger to herself. To quash a defense subpoena for records from a rape-crisis counselor. To commission an independent investigation requested by prosecutors to look into leaks to the media attributed to the defense despite a court gag order. The Lakers, coincidentally, play the Nuggets in Los Angeles on Dec. 19. Ruckriegle also set a Jan. 23 hearing to resolve any new motions that will be filed before setting an arraignment, at which Bryant would enter a formal plea. He has publicly denied the allegation. Underlying the dry and civil nature of Thursday's hearing were plenty of indications of a bitter dispute, including a cloaked discussion of whether defense experts may attend laboratory testing of unspecified evidence. "There is a part of the process that they are not allowed to come and observe," District Attorney Mark Hurlbert told Ruckriegle, who asked for a written motion on the specifics before he would allow any "destructive testing." The issue seems to focus on panties the woman wore to a sexual- assault examination the day after the incident. Mackey elicited testimony from Eagle County Sheriff's Detective Doug Winters during the preliminary hearing that the panties contained semen and pubic hair from someone other than Bryant. Pete Mang, spokesman for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said the agency typically allows defense experts to observe tests that destroy evidence if there is not enough to allow them to conduct their own. |