The Denver Post
Bryant prosecutors spent nearly $400,000 on case - and climbing
Tuesday, September 14, 2004 -
Nearly $75,000 for expert witnesses and travel. More than $78,000 for investigators. And more than $35,000 for a broadcast news clipping service.
The office of District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, which prosecuted the Kobe Bryant case, spent $397,508 from July 15, 2003, through Aug. 31, the day before they dismissed the felony sexual assault charge against the NBA star at the alleged victim's request. Expenses by the district attorney's office covering Eagle, Summit, Clear Creek and Lake counties were broken down in a balance sheet obtained by The Associated Press through an open-records request. The office still is spending money on the case. Spokeswoman Krista Flannigan, who earned $76,000 after she was hired to help Hurlbert handle media coverage, is still on the payroll. Lawyers in his office are still are working on issues related to a request by Bryant's attorneys to seal all records and evidence in the case from public view. The document indicates the office run by Hurlbert paid almost $61,000 for the services of investigator Gerry Sandberg and $35,700 for two legal assistants. Hurlbert paid other district attorneys a total of $64,000 for the services of an investigator and two prosecutors - Ingrid Bakke and Dana Easter - who specialize in sexual assault cases. And he paid Multivision Inc. of Walnut Creek, Calif., $35,451 to monitor broadcast news stories about the case. Flannigan said the service was hired to provide video clips for use as evidence as well as to monitor coverage. She said she did similar work using the Internet to monitor print media. "This actually is a little less than you'd expect for something of this high profile," Flannigan said Tuesday. "It's typical for a first-degree murder case, even in our district." She said costs would have been higher, but some experts and other people who provided assistance either donated their time or reduced their rates. Hurlbert did not return a call.
Click here for a timeline of the People v. Bryant case.
Click here for the official court website with officials court orders, filings and documents in the case.
Click here to see a copy of the felony charges against Bryant in the PDF format. The charges were dropped Sept. 1.
Click here for the questions that were asked asked of potential jurors in the case.
Click here for an interactive presentation on Bryant's career.
Click here for the 9NEWS archive on the case.
Click here for the CourtTV archive on the case.
Former Denver prosecutor Karen Steinhauser, a visiting professor at the University of Denver College of Law, said there is no yardstick to measure the expenses to determine whether they were appropriate. "From the standpoint of a typical rape case, absolutely not $400,000, but given the small jurisdiction, given the fact you've got extra assistance and have to pay extra people and numerous experts, it's going to be more than your typical rape case," she said. "The case is so unique in so many ways, you really can't compare it with a typical case in another jurisdiction." The amount Bryant spent on his defense is not publicly known, though Easter said during a hearing last month "the prosecution has not had $12 million to pay for experts." Defense attorney Pamela Mackey did not return a call. She and defense attorney Hal Haddon so far continue to represent Bryant in a civil lawsuit filed against him by the alleged victim in Denver federal court. Experts said there is no way to accurately estimate how much the Los Angeles Lakers star spent on his defense. Determining how many lawyers, investigators and experts Bryant's defense team used is probably possible, but figuring out how much time they spent on the case and what they charged is impossible, said Dan Recht, former president of the Colorado Criminal Bar Association. He said Easter's comment was probably an exaggeration. Larry Pozner, former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the $400,000 outlined by Hurlbert's office did not include some work by co-workers, the Eagle County sheriff's office and others not designated to the case. "When the government comes after you, the government comes with an open checkbook," Pozner said. "There is no bill for the prosecutors' time, there is no bill for the sheriff's time." Hurlbert's office has an annual budget of $2.1 million. Each of the four counties in his district contribute to his budget, and each agreed to give additional money for the Bryant case. In 2003, only Eagle County, where the alleged crime occurred, provided additional funding. That figure totaled $107,897. In 2004, all four counties agreed to provide additional funding up to $300,000 total, Flannigan has said. Through Aug. 31, Hurlbert had spent $188,952 of that. Other funding for the prosecution came from the state. Flannigan has said Hurlbert and other prosecutors were carefully watching expenses, but never had a situation where they could not pay for some service they felt they needed. Here are aome of the expenses for District Attorney Mark Hurlbert's office in the prosecution of the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case. The expenses, obtained by The Associated Press through an open-records request, cover the period from July 15, 2003, three days before Bryant was charged, to Aug. 31, the day before prosecutors dropped the charge at the alleged victim's request: -$76,075: Salary of public information officer Krista Flannigan. -$72,173: Fees for expert witnesses and consultants. -$60,896: Salary and benefits of investigator Gerry Sandberg. -$37,500: Compensation to another district attorney for the services of prosecutor Ingrid Bakke. -$35,451: For a broadcast news-clipping service. -$22,500: Compensation to another district attorney for the services of prosecutor Dana Easter. -$14,227: Equipment including office supplies for additional personnel hired to help on the case. -$13,607: Travel expenses for investigators. -$5,705: Travel and lodging expenses. -$4,932: Miscellaneous. -$2,808: Travel expenses for expert witnesses and consultants. -$850: Laboratory fees. |