The Denver Postkobe bryant trial
Bryant rape case dismissed
Thursday, September 02, 2004 - Eagle - The sexual-assault case against basketball star Kobe Bryant was dismissed Wednesday after prosecutors and attorneys representing Bryant's 20-year-old accuser said she did not wish to go forward and was incapable of doing so.
"This prosecution team wants to try this case. I want to try this case and have the evidence heard by 12 citizens of this community," District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said at a news conference Wednesday evening. "However, the victim has informed us, after much of her own labored deliberation, that she does not want to proceed with this trial. For this reason, and this reason only, the case is being dismissed." The blockbuster development in one of the nation's most watched criminal cases ends 14 months of intense legal wrangling and drama that brought the bright glare of the international media spotlight to tiny Eagle. Bryant, an all-star guard with the Los Angeles Lakers, was accused of sexually assaulting the woman in his hotel room near Edwards in June 2003. He maintained that the liaison was consensual. Bryant faced four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation if convicted. "I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year," Bryant said in a statement. "Although this year has been incredibly difficult for me personally, I can only imagine the pain she has had to endure. "I also want to apologize to her parents and family members, and to my family and friends and supporters, and to the citizens of Eagle, Colo.
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According to the dismissal, the case against Bryant cannot be refiled, a condition to which the Eagle woman agreed, said her lawyer, John Clune. "When this case ends, she never wants to be brought into the criminal case again," Clune said moments before District Judge Terry Ruckriegle officially declared the case over. The woman has filed a civil case in U.S. District Court in Denver and will continue to pursue that remedy against Bryant, Clune said. Legal experts believe that her case is subject to a cap of $733,000 on noneconomic civil damages, such as pain and suffering, under Colorado law. He emphasized that the permanent dismissal of the criminal case "not only does not impact on the civil case, but we have not entertained one discussion about settlement of the civil case." The accuser's parents listened attentively in the courtroom, sitting directly behind the prosecutor's table, but they expressed no visible emotion and offered no comments.
Earlier in the day, defense attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case based on an allegation that prosecutors had withheld information that potentially could have exonerated Bryant. It claimed that one prosecution expert - believed to be New York forensics expert Michael Baden - had information that undermined the accuser's allegations and corroborated Bryant's defense. Denver defense attorney Larry Pozner said the case would not have been dismissed if prosecutors had had a stronger case. "You might as well raise a white flag of surrender and say to the world, 'We have no case,"' he said. The dismissal of the criminal case came a day after it appeared the case had polarized jurors in Eagle County, with some telling lawyers during closed jury questioning that they thought Bryant was "probably not guilty" or "definitely not guilty." Prosecutors had requested that Ruckriegle kick such potential jurors off the panel if they had formed their opinions from what they had heard, saw and read in the media. Ruckriegle noted that what happened on the night of June 30, 2003, at the upscale Lodge & Spa at Cordillera will remain a mystery to many. "It will always be a question in the minds of everyone, just as several of the (potential) jurors have stated, that only two people know what happened," Ruckriegle said. Bryant, who was in Eagle County for off-season knee surgery at the famed Steadman-Hawkins clinic where many elite athletes are treated, was booked into the hotel under the pseudonym "Javier Rodriguez," along with two bodyguards and a trainer. The woman purposely stayed late to meet the basketball star and immediately began flirting with him, at one point leading him on a private tour of the hotel. She accepted Bryant's invitation to return to his room and at that point even expected him "to put a move on her," said Doug Winters, a detective with the Eagle County Sheriff's Department. After they chatted for a bit, Bryant invited her to join him in the hot tub, but she declined and told authorities that was when she grew uncomfortable. When she started to leave, she agreed to give him a hug and then began kissing him. That is where the stories diverge.
She told authorities she said "no" a couple of times and ultimately got him to stop when she forcefully pried his hands off and pulled away from him. Bryant, she said, repeatedly asked her not to tell anyone and instructed her to clean up in the bathroom because she was crying. Defense attorney Pamela Mackey said Bryant regretted not being able to attend the announcement of the dismissal. He had flown back to Los Angeles early in the afternoon and did not know the dismissal was going to happen, she said. In his statement, Bryant said he understood the civil case was going forward. "I issue this statement today fully aware that while one part of this case ends today, another remains," he said. "I understand that the civil case against me will go forward. That part of this case will be decided by and between the parties directly involved in the incident and will no longer be a financial or emotional drain on the citizens of the state of Colorado." The tone and language in Bryant's apology could indicate that the civil case was also settled by the attorneys, said Karen Steinhauser, a former prosecutor and now a professor at the University of Denver law school. Clune said the past 14 months have been a nightmare for the young woman, who he said encountered unbelievable horrors daily. She received death threats, had to move repeatedly and was featured in photographs spread across the front pages of national tabloids. He said one of the most devastating impacts on the accuser was the release of information that she had been paid about $20,000, primarily for mental health counseling. And he said the FBI was conducting an investigation into whether her counselor was trying to sell her file. What she endured was "not only beyond belief, but the hardships I could describe are staggering," Clune said. Clune cited two examples that devastated the woman: the release by the court of her name on a state-run website last September and the June 26 release of highly sensitive transcripts of a closed rape-shield hearing by a court reporter. Those mistakes have resulted in the development of a fundamental lack of trust in the criminal justice system on the part of the accuser and her family, Clune said. "I want you to understand what she was dealing with on a daily basis," Clune said. "She and her family were receiving two to three calls a minute over five or six weeks." He said many of the calls were from people threatening to kill her, and who sounded capable and deranged enough to carry it out. Ruckriegle extended his sympathy to Bryant's accuser. He said the case was so emotional and traumatic for many that it was reflected in the questionnaires that the potential jurors filled out. "This county has suffered," Ruckriegle said. "Certainly this court and people of the 5th Judicial District have felt the impact." The judge also apologized for the release by the state judicial department of the accuser's name at least four times and the transcript of the closed rape-shield hearing, which emphasized the defense's point of view. "This court has made mistakes," the judge said. "I take full responsibility for all errors." Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at hpankratz@denverpost.com or 303-820-1929. Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com .
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