The Denver Post
Bryant trial judge clashes with lawyers for accuser
Sunday, August 15, 2004 -
Lawyers representing the alleged victim in the Kobe Bryant case have given repeated interviews criticizing presiding Judge Terry Ruckriegle.
John Clune and Lin Wood claim the judge has failed to protect their client, the woman who says she was raped by the basketball star last summer. Now their comments have brought a severe rebuke - by Ruckriegle and Tom Overton, a state hearing officer who is part of a three-member panel that determines if lawyers have violated Colorado's Rules of Professional Conduct. Legal analysts said Ruckriegle, in a tersely worded order Friday, told Clune and Wood they had commented improperly on the merits of the case and on the character of Bryant and witnesses, and had directed inflammatory criticism at the judge. His statement was in an order declining the prosecution's motion to delay the start of the trial. Overton, in an interview Thursday with The Denver Post, said that if media reports of the comments of Wood and Clune are correct, he believes "their actions have shown an utter contempt for the integrity of the state judicial system and the court." Wood and Clune have spoken out after state court officials committed a series of errors: publication of the accuser's name on a state judicial website and distribution of transcripts from a sensitive closed rape-shield hearing to seven media organizations, which published the contents of the transcripts. Wood and Clune said the publication of their client's name and the release of the transcripts - which they said are one-sided from a defense perspective - have made it impossible for their client to receive a fair hearing at Bryant's criminal trial scheduled to start Aug. 27. Among their comments to the media: "We have an order from our own judge, the chief judge of our district, sending a clear message to this victim that she will not be protected," Clune said. "No apology (by Ruckriegle) was made to the victim or her family. His self-serving remarks attempting to rehabilitate the court's image were insulting. His refusal to apologize to this victim and her parents is very telling about the sincerity of his words," Clune said. "The history of the criminal trial court committing inexcusable mistakes, which indisputably prejudice this young girl, cannot be ignored by her or her lawyers," Wood said. Overton, who is not involved in the Bryant case, said he is appalled by the comments. "They question the qualifications of the judge, they've questioned the integrity of the judge, and it is designed to undermine the ability to get a fair trial," Overton said. Clune said Friday that neither he nor Wood could comment because Ruckriegle has issued a gag order prohibiting them from saying anything. But in their motion to lift what they claim is an unconstitutional gag order, the two lawyers said they're just trying to save the reputation of their client. They say their client is suffering "enormous, outrageous prejudice" by reason of Ruckriegle's errors and by a "devastating, one-sided account" that has fed a media frenzy that is destroying her reputation. Wood and Clune have a strong supporter in David Lane, a Denver civil rights attorney. "They can do whatever they want. Ruckriegle has absolutely no jurisdiction to gag them. Ruckriegle has no authority to tell them not to comment," Lane said. "They are not parties to the litigation. It is captioned 'the People of the State of Colorado v. Kobe Bryant,"' Lane said. "Those are the people that Ruckriegle has jurisdiction over: the DAs and Kobe Bryant's defense lawyers. Period. The end." Lane said that Overton's decision to speak out "is totally unheard of. I've never heard of any such thing in my life." Dan Recht, a Denver defense attorney, said that Ruckriegle's comments Friday and Overton's decision to speak out "are extraordinary, and both of those statements you rarely see." "Clearly the judge thinks they have violated the ethical rules, and it appears as though that they've at least come close to the line," Recht said. One of the primary Rules of Professional Conduct, part of Colorado law that regulates lawyers, states that it is inappropriate for a lawyer to seek to improperly influence a judge or potential juror. Overton said Clune and Wood have violated that rule. And he said that the two have violated Ruckriegle's sweeping gag order in the case. Overton told The Post he won't sit on any grievance involving Wood or Clune. But if a grievance is filed with the state against a lawyer, which can be done by any citizen, the case is reviewed to see if it has merit. The state could then file a complaint against a lawyer, triggering a hearing before the three-member panel. Punishment could include suspension or even disbarment. Karen Steinhauser, a former prosecutor and now a professor at the University of Denver School of Law, said that she believes Clune and Wood are wrong about Ruckriegle. "I think that the criticism of the judge is totally off base and not valid whatsoever," Steinhauser said. "And I think to blame him for some of the things that have happened is totally unfair." Steinhauser said, speaking in general about the court system, she believes that trials need to be tried in a courtroom, not on TV or in the newspapers. Justice is not served when lawyers decide to try and make their case in the public forum, she said. "That's not the place for it," she said. Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com .
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