The Denver Post
Bryant team seeks sample
Friday, May 28, 2004 -
Eagle - The defense in the Kobe Bryant sexual-assault case pleaded in court Thursday to obtain DNA samples from the accuser's former boyfriend in hopes of matching it to semen found on the 19-year-old woman during a rape exam - an attempt to prove she lied about her sexual liaisons.
"We've shown pretty dramatically in sealed filings that there is a direct relevance to the truth-seeking function of this case," said Hal Haddon, an attorney for the Los Angeles Lakers guard. But Keith Tooley, the attorney for the accuser's former boyfriend Matt Herr, argued against the DNA test as a gross invasion of privacy. "What's going to happen? A sheriff is going to chase my client down and force him to submit to a test that he doesn't want to take?" Tooley said. "Whether she said yes or whether she said no (to Bryant) has no bearing on that." The open hearing Thursday morning was followed after lunch by an hour and a half behind closed doors before proceedings ended for the day. Bryant went to the Eagle County Airport at 3:15 p.m. for a private flight back to Los Angeles and his team's playoff game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. For the fifth time this season, Bryant went to court during the day, then flew by private jet back to Los Angeles for a game. His previous two playoff games under the same conditions were outstanding: Bryant scored 31 points against the Houston Rockets in the first round and 42 points against the San Antonio Spurs in the second round. Haddon won an order from District Judge Terry Ruckriegle to obtain cellphone text messages from Herr that were made in the hours after the woman's hotel-room encounter with Bryant. Ruckriegle was informed that another of the woman's acquaintances, former bellman Bobby Pietrack, has voluntarily consented to a DNA test sought by the defense. The alleged victim said Bryant, 25, sexually assaulted her June 30 at the upscale Lodge & Spa at Cordillera near Edwards, where he was staying for minor knee surgery. Bryant has said the liaison was consensual. His attorneys are trying to demonstrate that the woman's injuries could have been the result of sex with another man in the 72 hours surrounding the encounter.
Click here for an interactive presentation on Kobe Bryant's career.
Click here for an archive of court documents in the People v. Bryant case.
Click here for The Denver Post's graphic on the events of June 30.
Click here for the 9NEWS archive on the case.
Click here for the CourtTV archive on the case.
Semen from someone other than Bryant was found on the woman's thigh and in the supposedly clean panties she wore to a rape examination the next day. Seeking to prove the woman had sex with someone other than Bryant, Haddon argued the DNA samples could be obtained easily in the form of swabs from the mouth or a blood draw. Tooley countered that Herr has a constitutional right to protection from unreasonable searches and argued that, even if his client had sex with the 19-year-old woman, it would not be relevant to the case. With the accuser's parents sitting behind him in the gallery, District Attorney Mark Hurlbert contended that Herr is not an "alternate suspect" and shouldn't have to provide a DNA sample. "Without probable cause that he committed a crime, without even reasonable doubt, they want to compel the state to go to a private resident, to a citizen of the United States and invade (his) privacy," Hurlbert said. "This is such a fundamental violation of a person's privacy. Frankly, it's abhorrent." Haddon suggested the woman's paramours may not have been honest with police or on the witness stand in the previous closed hearings. He accused prosecutors of a "don't ask, don't tell" policy about evidence that may clear Bryant. "The rape-shield statute does not immunize an outcry witness or whatever you want to call them from telling the truth under oath," he said. Earlier in the day, Haddon won an order from the judge demanding AT&T Wireless turn over the text messages from Herr's cellphone, evidence that would have been readily available to prosecutors had they requested it. Haddon contended that defendants should have the same access to potentially exculpatory evidence and that fair-trial provisions of the U.S. Constitution outweigh any presumption of privacy. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or at slipsher@denverpost.com . |