The Denver Post
Bryant plea to start clock ticking
Monday, May 10, 2004 -
When basketball star Kobe Bryant enters a not-guilty plea this week to a charge that he raped a Colorado woman, it will trigger six months of work, worry and sweat for prosecutors and Bryant's defense team, legal analysts said Sunday.
Under Colorado law, Bryant must be tried within six months of entering his plea or his right to a speedy trial will have been violated. Bryant will be in Eagle beginning today for three days of pretrial hearings, culminating in his arraignment Wednesday, when he will enter his plea. "It ratchets up the tension," Denver lawyer Larry Pozner said of the six-month period. Pozner said the strained relations between the prosecution and defense, already evident during months of pretrial hearings and motions, will only increase as the trial approaches. "That's why lawyers drink," said Nathan Chambers, a former Denver prosecutor who became a defense lawyer and represented Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh until McVeigh was executed. "If you are a defense attorney, you are entrusted with a person's life," he said. "Pressure increases as you draw near to trial, particularly from a defense perspective when you believe your client is innocent. It is very nerve-racking." But the 19-year-old who has accused Bryant of raping her in his room at the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Edwards on June 30 is likely to be relieved that he is finally entering a plea, said Cynthia Stone, spokeswoman for the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "It gives them (the accuser and her family) an ending time," Stone said. "It's been almost 11 months, and we haven't seen an arraignment. I think it is going to be heartening for them." Lawyer Jeralyn Merritt said much of the pressure will be on prosecutors, because if they can't go to trial within the six months, the case against Bryant could be thrown out by Judge Terry Ruckriegle. Colorado judges haven't hesitated to dismiss criminal cases if prosecutors aren't ready within that time frame. Merritt says the defense is prepared and ready. "They've been investigating it from top to bottom, and I think they know what the (prosecution) evidence is going to be and how they are going to rebut it," she said. Bryant could waive his right to the speedy trial later this summer if he decides his lawyers need more time to prepare and because he has so much at stake, Pozner said. "This is a terrifying case because under Colorado law someone convicted of sexual assault can be in prison for life. It is the end," Pozner said. "Your client's nerves and his career" become secondary to being properly prepared, he said. Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com . |