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The Denver Post
Bryant judge rules on evidence
Thursday, July 15, 2004 -
Kobe Bryant voluntarily talked to detectives last July and willingly gave them numerous articles of clothing, including the T-shirt stained with his accuser's blood - evidence that can be admitted at Bryant's sexual assault trial, a state judge ruled Wednesday.
However, Judge Terry Ruckriegle said Bryant was forced to submit to a nighttime physical examination at a Glenwood Springs hospital against his will, and as a result none of the evidence from the examination can be heard by the jury. But experts say that will have limited effect on the prosecution's case, given that Bryant has said he had consensual sex with the woman. In motions filed last December, Hal Haddon, one of Bryant's lawyers, claimed that Detectives Doug Winters and Dan Loya used numerous methods to get Bryant to talk to them. Haddon claimed they kept Bryant a virtual prisoner in his hotel room, secretly tape-recorded their conversation and did not inform Bryant they had a search warrant for his room and a court order to take him to the hospital. Haddon claimed that the detectives never advised Bryant of his right to remain silent and his right to an attorney. But Ruckriegle said pretrial hearings showed that Bryant was cooperative with the detectives, and that they did not, as was insinuated by Haddon, make threats or misrepresentations in the conversations, which began about 12:45 a.m. on July 2, 2003. Instead, the judge said, they spoke in conversational tones. "There was no evidence of any coercion or undue influence put upon Mr. Bryant to either speak to them or to provide them items from his room," he said. Krista Flannigan, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, was pleased with the ruling. "We look at it as a win for the prosecution," she said. Former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman, working as a legal analyst on the case, said the suppression of the evidence from the examination won't hurt the prosecution. Bryant, Silverman said, already has admitted to adultery with the then- 19-year-old hotel employee. "It's not a big loss for the prosecution," Silverman said. "At the same time ... I don't think that this devastates the defense. It's clear that Kobe Bryant did not confess to any crime. And now the jury is going to be asked to determine whether what he said was incriminating or not." Bryant is accused of sexually assaulting the Eagle woman on June 30, 2003, at the upscale Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, where she was a front-desk employee. Bryant claimed the encounter was consensual. The judge said Wednesday that Bryant was free to walk away from the detectives until the end of the 75-minute interview. During that time, he willingly talked, Ruckriegle said. The NBA superstar "never once indicated he would not or did not want to answer the questions posed by detectives," Ruckriegle said. It was only when Bryant declined to go to the Glenwood hospital - and Winters said he had to go - that Bryant was no longer free to leave. The judge noted, however, that Bryant said little after that. Ruckriegle also said that while Bryant was chatting with the detectives, he voluntarily gave them five items, including two T-shirts, his blue Nike track pants, boxer shorts and Cordillera-marked papers. That evidence can be introduced at trial, he said. The judge said taking Bryant to the hospital in the middle of the night was a "blatant violation" of Colorado law. The law specifically prohibits such physical exams at night in order to safeguard citizens' privacy from unnecessary nighttime intrusions, the judge said. Furthermore, said Ruckriegle, Bryant didn't consent to the physical exam. "Therefore the court concludes that all items seized from Mr. Bryant's person during this physical examination, and all evidence derived therefrom, must be suppressed," he said. Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com . Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495. |